If Only They Knew
by troublesomefox21
Summary: Pein attacked, Tsunade is in a coma and the clan heads are too busy for the meetings. That just means one thing. Naruto is banished by the civilian council. Oh, and Naruto is secretly a girl and Sasuke came back to Konoha. Akatsuki is gone as well. What does this mean for our blond ninja and the shinobi world? (Being Continued)
1. Chapter Intro

This is all edited. It took a while for me to open this all up again because it was my baby. This was the first story I wrote that got some attention and since I kept losing the regular rewrites for it, I just decided to edit it. I fixed some names and some grammar. Hopefully, it's better then before. Thanks :)

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If Only They Knew

Introduction

"—W-what? No, N-no. NO!" Naruto was hysterical. Not that you could blame him, he just find out that he was banished. Naruto really should have expected it though. He was the demon child after all. Ever since he was little that was all he ever was, he was just the demon. But then he met Sarutobi, bless his soul, then Jiraiya than Tsunade. He always did have Kurama though, even if he never told the old man. But nothing could last forever, it was just his luck.

First it was Sarutobi, then Sasuke, Jiraiya and now Tsunade even though it's for a different reason. Sasuke came back about six months ago, when Naruto was still on his training trip. Saying that he needed more power, and that he realized that since Itachi as well as Orochimaru got strong in Konoha than so could he. Jiraiya died, which hit him extremely hard since they were family. They knew practically everything about each other, including her real gender, being in her real form during the trip. Now Tsunade was in a coma after Pein attacked and he was getting…banished? It just didn't seem right.

"Do not cross us demon boy! We should have done this years ago. Nobody wants you, you are nothing but a demon. A thorn in someone's hand. You have 24 hours to leave or the ANBU will make sure you can't…bother anybody else." A council member said. Most of them nodded in agreement. They were all the civilian council though; the clan heads were too busy with clan business after the attack dealing with the aftermath. But they already voted, Naruto had no choice. He just stood there shell-shocked. "B-but I protected you from Pein..." He drawled out, confused.

Kohoru smirked, "But if it wasn't for you than he never would have attacked. It wasn't for you than we would still have our beloved Fourth Hokage, as well as the third. Don't even get me started on Jiraiya or Tsunade. After all, it is all your fault the Gama Sannin died, and Senju-Hime is as good as that. You always say that you protect your precious people, but you only hurt them."

Naruto had no words. He knew that everything they said was true, he really did. But he couldn't help but feel pissed. He never wanted to hurt them. If they knew anything about him, anything at all, they would bow on their knees. He thought it was for the best, but he should have listened. Kurama, lord third, Jiraiya, he should have known. But even though he was sad, he knew it wouldn't do any good. Nobody really knew him, they all thought he was an idiot after all. But deep down, he found it funny. What was the point of ever trying to get through with these people?

He looked down, his bangs covering his eyes but he could feel the councils' smirks. They finally got him, the wretched demon out of their village. He laughed, confusing the council. They shifted in discomfort the longer and harder he laughed. Naruto looked back up and wiped a stray tear, weather from sadness, humor, or him being pissed off they couldn't tell. But they were now scared.

He clapped his hands together. The only person who knew him in this village was Tsunade. He didn't blame her though. This wasn't her fault. He sighs, almost looking happy, "Well congrats you get your wish after a long fifteen years. I'm gone ok? I'll be gone by midnight." He bows full on smirking now, "Just know I am glad I'm leaving. Hope you know who it is that you just lost though. I will not come back, even if you bow on your knees. I am free, and so are you." He didn't even look to see the looks of shock, confusion, or horror when they fully realized what they have done.

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'What now Kurama?' Naruto asked walking through the village. Ignoring both the looks of disgust and awe. **'Well you finally get to be the real you now. I am sorry that they did this to you though.'** Kurama said guiltily. Naruto just sighed, 'It was gonna happen sooner or later, I only stayed because of my heritage and the few who knew the truth. God, can you imagine any of their reactions if they knew any of the truth?'

The fox just laughs, **'I guess that it is true. But, I really am sorry.'** Naruto cuts the connection, not knowing how to deal with this.

She was really being banished. After everything, she- It was over. Just like that?

Naruto knew that she was hated, not like she exactly liked the village either. Not after everything that it had done to her. She talked with Jiraiya about not returning but he asked her to give it another chance, for his and Tsunades sake. She agreed, but honestly didn't care. She would leave quietly. She wouldn't cry over it, what did crying ever do for her? Naruto rested her forehead on her apartment door, thinking about what she would do now.

She laughed when she thought about what Tsunades reaction would be to all this. So _pissed_. She snorted, the council would be in for a treat. She knew that it would be about another week or so for her to wake up. She opened the door and looked around. A photo of team seven, her dads kunai, (That she knew how to use surprisingly), more photos, she paused at one of her and Itachi. She walked over, Picking it up and ell back onto her bed.

She was always a genius, she just never showed it. She could have graduated when she was six, the council just always shut it down not believing that she could do it. Hence, the idiocy mask.

Itachi was her best friend. Her first friend. He knew that she was actually a girl, plus they trained together. She put the photo back onto the desk and walked into the bathroom. It was about 11 in the afternoon so she had time to take a shower.

Taking off a sealed bracelet, she studied herself in the mirror. She was about 5'6 with a slender figure. She had about c-cups with her muscles visible. But not like a body-builder, it suited her. She still had blue eyes but they were a deep indigo with hints of dark purple. She had her golden hair that rivaled the sun, especially when the sun reflected a reddish tint. It reached her midback. Stepping into the shower she just let the water sprinkle her, deep in thought.

She soon decided that she would head over to Suna after she left for good. Afterall, Gaara was one of the very few who knew that she was actually a female. When she finished her shower she put her blow dried hair into a messy bun. Putting on a white loose T-shirt, and black denim shorts that ended mid-thigh she started to pack.

She frowned when she turned to the rest of the photos. She had been forced into looking and acting male after an incident when she was younger. Nobody had questioned it. They hadn't even cared. Her friends, if she could call them that, didn't even know she had boobs. Reguardless, she laughed as she thought about their reactions if they ever found out.

Naruto folded her bed back into the wall after she packed up all the blankets. She put the rest of her photos and keepsakes into a box, only keeping a few ones that meant a lot. Her bedroom was finished. Walking into her training room she sealed everything from swords to motivational posters. (Not really but you get the point) About two and a half hours she was all packed.

It was kind of funny, everybody expected her to be the idiot. They all thought her crap was all over along with dozens of ramen cups. That was why they always turned down the offer to hang out at her place. She scoffed, nobody ever actually asked her what her favorite food was. If they ever went through the effort to ask, they would be surprised when it definitely wasn't ramen.

Soon enough her apartment was packed, taking the garbage out as well. Walking into the kitchen she placed the second to last box along the wall. There were only a few a room, so for an apartment that only had four rooms, there weren't many boxes. Going over to the table she sat down. Over the next couple hours, she wrote everybody letters. She couldn't help but cry or laugh as she wrote a few of them, how little they actually knew about her. Like with Hinata, 'Sorry but, I'm a girl. And I'm straight.' Or Sakura was her favorite, she **hated** her with deep, burning passion.

Just the academy alone, Kurama had to calm her down so often. 'Sorry Sakura, only trying to be nice. Not everybody is obsessed with another person like you and your Uchiha.' That got Kurama to laugh.

She couldn't tell who's was harder to write to though, between Tsunade and Sasuke. She figured that it had been long enough for Sasuke to be in the dark. She really wished that she could be there for him he read it, the truth about the Uchiha clan. She just hoped that he wouldn't be too hard on Itachi. They have both been through so much. She would have told him in person but knew that he wouldn't let her go once she started to talk.

She put everybody's letter and/or other items in a box. But she kept Sasukes and Tsunades out. She reached over to the other end of the table grabbing a photo that had three people in it. It was in the Uchihas gardens, they were all red and white with an occasional yellow rose. They were all on a picnic blanket. Itachi was leaning against a tree smiling, as he looked at Naruto who was giving Sasuke his birthday present. They were all so happy that day. It was about six months before Itachi's mission. Before the massacre that had changed everything.

She put the letter on top of the taped box. She sat down for a minute, not wanting to continue. She let out a shaky breath and slowly untied the first hokages necklace. 'So much for being Hokage now.' She thought. She never really expected to become hokage, not really.

Just... banished?

It almost seemed too much, for the little bad she did to the village. She put the necklace in Tsunades envelope on top of Sasukes and wiped her tears. She would miss those two especially. She stood up suddenly and laughed shakily. 'If only they knew.' She thought dryly. She grabbed her backpack and threw open the door, slamming it shut, not bothering to lock it on the way out.

|3 days later|

Naruto huffed as she walked into Suna. She was surprised at the amount of respect they gave her. She did take longer to get there, but it wasn't like she had anything better to do. She smiled softly as she shook her hair free of sand. She followed the guard to the Kage's tower. She was happy that people recognized her from her previous visits, from her travels with Jiraiya. She thanked the guard and knocked on the door.

She heard a muffled 'Come In.' and entered. When she entered she seemed to break even more when she saw Gaara's confused look. Standing there she had to wonder what she had been thinking. She didn't want Suna to declare war on the Leaf. They didn't even know about her banishment.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Gaara asked, confusion swimming in his eyes. Taking his golden-haired friend into account, he noticed to things that made him frown. 1) She was crying. Or trying not to. 2) She was missing her headband.

He dropped his pen onto the floor when he realized what has happened to his best friend. Questions raging in his head but didn't speak. He stood, bracing his palms on his desk as he watched her sadly. He wasn't a social person, he didn't know what to say or do in this situation.

They just stood, staring at each other for many minutes. Naruto sniffled, "Uh, hey Gaara." She said as she patted her leg. He nodded and signaled for her to sit down. She slumped in her chair while the red head went to talk to his guards outside. "Do not bother us for the day. I'm going out." The guards nodded and he went back inside.

Gaara's heart clenched when he saw her with her arms on her legs, gripping her head. He slowly walked over to her and knelt down, "I'm going to go change. I'll be back than we'll talk." She nodded. A few minutes later Gaara came back in a black T-shirt and brown ANBU pants, with a blood red cloak. He picked up her backpack and shunshind them to an Ice cream shop. It was expensive, but he knew that she loved it.

Gaara got a strawberry and caramel sundae, while Naruto got vanilla and hot fudge. He stayed quiet even though she stopped crying a few minutes ago. He debated what to say, then just put it bluntly. "What happened and who kicked you out?'' Naruto finished licking the chocolate off her spoon and sighed. "Jiraiya died-"

"WHAT!?" Gaara (very) uncharacteristically yelled.

|45 Minutes Later|

"- - So I packed up and came to say hello." Naruto finished with a flick of her spoon, smiling sardonically. Gaara just sat wide-eyed thinking about what he was just told. They were silently eating their ice cream for a few minutes.

"So, the Akatsuki is gone?" He asked in a whisper. Naruto nodded, "Yup, I believe so. I think that the remaining members split up. Looks like the rest of us are safe." Gaara nodded. "That's good. I know that you won't appreciate it or care for that matter, but I am sorry about what happened. Tsunade is not going to be happy, or any of the clan heads for that matter. What do you think you're going to do now?"

She was thoughtful for a moment. "I think I'm going to spend the night here. Maybe head out and travel, I'll come back and visit though." She said thoughtfully. Gaara was quiet for a few seconds.

"Are you sure that you won't stay here? At least for a while?'' He pleaded. She frowned and grabbed his hand. "Thanks for the offer but, I need some time to myself. Adjust. I'll probably meet up with some old clients of Jiraiyas. See if I can get them to work for me or something."

He nodded in understanding, even if he didn't particularly like it. "I'm gonna head out early tomorrow. If I can I'll stop by. But if not, thanks for listening." She continued. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. She grabbed her bag and headed out for the hotel leaving her older brother figure to his thoughts.

Gaara narrowed his eyes before drooping with a silent groan. Naruto didn't deserve any of this. Konoha wasn't good for her, maybe at some point it was. When she had people to talk to and wasn't constantly lying. But not anymore, not for a while now. Naruto was strong though, a Jinchurriki would have to be.

Despite being older then the other, he looked up to her a lot. She would make it through this. It may even be good for her, he mused.

Gaara made eye contact with the owner of the parlor and gestured to his empty dish. A couple minutes later, a new sundae was in front of him. He ate it, continuing to think. He hated counsels. They were stupid and ignorant, arrogant, as well. But in Suna, they at least knew their limits.

Not for the first time, he was glad he lived in Suna.


	2. Chapter One

Same as before, this is edited and then some. So… It's new, I would recommend you read it. Even if it's similar to before. Thanks :)

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|Konoha: Eight days after Naruto left|

Sasuke huffed as he jogged up the staircase to Naruto's apartment. He was annoyed that Naruto hadn't bothered to come to any of the group meetings for the past week. Come to think of it he hasn't seen the Dobe since the attack. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He hasn't even bothered to see if he was ok and he knew that none of the others hadn't either.

He never mentioned it before, but he came back all those months ago because Orochimaru found a seal. The seal blocked most of his memories from _that night_. To say that he was confused would be a major understatement. He felt his world turn inside out to suddenly wake up with memories that weren't his, but clearly were his.

He may or may not be ignoring them and just trying to get used to being in Konoha again.

Walking up the hallway he froze. There was nearly no chakra, only a trace that was almost faded. What happened with Naruto? He bolted to the door and didn't even bother to knock. Instead crashing straight in. "Naruto!?"

No answer. He frowned and walked into the kitchen, noticing how empty it all looked. His breath hitched when he saw the boxes, he ran to every other room only to find them all empty.

He slowly walked back into the kitchen and sat on the table. 'What happened the Dobe?' He thought worriedly. He rose his head from his arms when he noticed a letter. He sat up and grabbed both of them. He faintly noticed the box labeled, 'Konoha 12 and Senseis.'

He looked at the first letter, 'Of course he would tell Tsunade what's wrong. I wonder if he knows she woke up.' He shuffled the letters and sighed when he saw one addressed to him. "Let's see what this is." He grumbled, he couldn't stop the tears as he read even if he tried.

' _Sasuke,_

 _I'm sorry that I couldn't say any of this is person. My guess is that you are reading this 7-10 days after Pein attacked. I guess that I should just jump right into it than. Ok... so, I've been banished. I'm not joking so please don't assume I am. The day after the attack the civilian council held a meeting. Since it followed through I was banished. Nothing can be done about it. I already checked._

 _As you know I'm the Jinchurraki for the nine-tails so it wasn't exactly a surprise. It was bound to happen sooner or later. It came close when you left a few years ago, but Tsunade prevented it. But as you know, she wasn't able to this time. I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you before I left. But I have a few other things I really need to tell you and they're important. I need you to trust me, if you can._

 _First off, I'm not a boy. I'm a girl but, as you can guess I didn't exactly grow up with the safest background. I didn't tell you any of this because it was a promise I made to your older brother that I would watch over you._

 _I guess I did a great job of that, huh? Don't go all murder crazy now, I know your faking it. Your excuse was terrible (about getting even more power). Itachi was the one who asked me to make the seal in the first place. I begged him to take you with him, as his younger brother. You two needed each other. He refused, having been asked by the Third Hokage to spy on the Akatsuki._

 _So, I did the next best thing I could think of. I promised to watch over you. We both know how that turned out. But I know that Itachi would be proud of you. That you came back. He really loved you._

 _Now the next thing, I assume you figured out something was wrong with that night. There were only seven people that knew what happened. The Third Hokage, the two council elders, Danzo, Itachi, Jiraiya and I. The third, Danzo, and Jiraiya died as you know. But since Tsunade is the new Hokage she is also aware. So only five now know, well six once you read this._

 _The truth is that the Uchiha clan was planning an uprising in Konoha. The council argued on what point of action to take. Hiruzen decided that they would only kill the main supporters, (Mainly Faguku and the Elders) But that same night Danzo lied to Itachi. Giving him a mission that he claimed was legalized. He killed the clan on fake orders, only sparing you out of love. He came to give a mission report for the Hokage when they found that it was all fraud. They figured it was Danzo but they didn't have any solid proof._

 _Itachi was completely crushed when he found out what he did. He came to me and cried pleading that it wasn't real. He cried himself to sleep after he told me everything. I was of upset since I was a close friend of your families. So instead of going with him, I promised I would watch over you. He left the next morning, barely having time to say goodbye._

 _It's up to you weather or not you believe me. Just know that I'm sorry that I let you down more than I can say. You deserved better. Itachi loved you more than you know._

 _Sorry this happened,_

 _Uzumaki N Naruto_

 _P.S. I'm sure that Tsunade would let you see the files if you were to ask.'_

Sasuke cried, picking up the picture that fell out once he opened the letter. He gasped when he saw it. He remembered that day so clearly. Ever since Orochimaru took off the seal he always wondered if the blond girl that was in the photo was related to the Dobe. But now they were the same person. He felt so dumb, he always called the blond girl Naru.

'Oh, kami! I tried to kill my sister!' He started to hyper-venalate. He loved that girl like family, she was always around when Itachi was, or even when he wasn't. She was his best friend, even before the academy. They knew each other since they were walking. She was pretty much an Uchiha, and he tried to kill her, his sister, his best friend.

He stood up, knocking the old wooden chair onto the floor. He gripped his hair tight asking it not to be true. How could they do this to Naruto? How could he do this? How did any of this happen?

He blacked out.

|1 Hour Later|

Tsunade frowned, she sent the Uchiha to go get the blond over an hour ago. Why wasn't he back yet? She sighed, spinning the empty glass on the table. "Shizune!"

Shizune yelped and came crashing into the office. "Yes Lady Tsunade?'' She gasped out panting.

She sighed, "Go get Sasuke from Naruto's house, please? And fast." Shizune nodded as she turned and left.

Not even twenty minutes later later Shizune came in crying. Tsunade was immediately on alert and ran over to her old apprentice. "Shizune? What's wrong, what happened?"

She looked up shocking, the Hokage by how many tears were coming out of such a small frame.

Shizune hiccupped and then coughed to catch her breath. "S-sasuke is in the hospital. I found him passed out at Naruto's. It looked like hyper-venalation. There were so many boxes, I think Naruto left. There was a letter addressed to you." She replied hastily. She gave the elder woman the letter shakily.

Tsunade's eyes were wide, "Who has Sasuke?"

"Sakura."

Tsunade nodded and grabbed the letter hesitantly. 'Why would she leave?' she kept asking herself. "G-go see if he's alright. I'll come check in on him later on." She nodded and left to her duties.

Tsunade sat back down in her chair and only looked at the letter. About five minutes later she slowly opened the letter. She was torn between A) leaving the village completely. B) Wrecking the village completely. C) Crying and drinking sake. Lots and lots of sake.

' _Tsunade,_

 _Hey, how are you doing? My guess is that you woke up yesterday from coma. Welp. A lot has happened in that time as you can presume. My guess is that Sasuke is either freaking out or in the hospital. Either way have fun with him. I told him the truth about the massacre. I would greatly appreciate it if you let him see the files. For me please._

 _I bet that none of this makes any sense and you're asking yourself, 'why on earth would that brat tell Sasuke what happened. It wasn't her place.' Well the truth is that I was very close to the Uchihas. I was best friends with Shisui and Itachi. Itachi gave me permission to tell Sasuke whenever needed. So, if it was anybody's business it would have been mine._

 _Now you're asking yourself why it's needed and why now?_

 _Remember a few years ago, when Sasuke originally left. How close I was to being banished? Well, the thing is this. After Pein attacked you were in coma (as you are aware.) Not only that but since the attack was devastating, the clan heads also had their plates full. The day after the attack the civilian council held a meeting. You know what happened I probably don't need to say what happened but I will anyway._

 _I've been banished._

 _Don't blame yourself, you had no way of knowing. I left about a week ago. It's not like I expected it not to happen. After all nobody visited me. Or checked if I was ok. Why would they? Anyway, I'm sorry. Whatever you do, don't get upset with Sasuke. He doesn't deserve it. Everything that happened with him, I let it happen because I thought it best._

 _I don't care what you do with anyone else just don't harm Sasuke. We were siblings when we were younger. We always will be. There was a seal that blocked all of his memories, it's gone now so he remembers me. The real me that was his sister figure. Don't hurt him._

 _Thank you for everything. I am not that upset about leaving the village. Jiraiya was the one who convinced me to come back. They took more away from me than even they took from you. Just know that even with my heritage, my so called friends. You and Sasuke were the only people I cared for to be honest. (Shizune as well)_

 _I'm sorry, good luck. I know that I let you down just as much as I let Sasuke down. I wish I could have fixed everything. But I can't and maybe it's for the best._

 _Love always-_

 _Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto'_

Tsunade cried and dropped the letter. She froze when she saw a thin black string coming out of the envelope. She knew that she shouldn't have picked it up. She knew exactly what it was. But she did it anyway.

"No! P-please, no!" She cried in a hoarse voice. The ANBU on guard were all confused but they stood their ground, knowing their place. She put the necklace on walked over to the files room and got the massacre case, walking over to the hospital. She didn't stop crying, waiting for the teen to wake up.

XXX

Sasuke woke to familiar beeping. It took him a moment to remember everything and when he did, tears sprang to his eyes. His best friend was banished and it was all his fault. He sat up, bringing his knees to his chest and his head to his knees. He cried, pulling on his hair. He jumped when he felt somebody pull his hand away and tread their own hand through his black tresses. He choked when he saw that Tsunade was crying as well.

They stayed in complete silence for a few minutes. Not that either of them minded, it was comforting and they both needed it. Nothing can last forever. Sakura burst into the room, full of worry.

"Sasuke-kun, are you ok? What happened? Did Naru-Baka say something to you? What did he do!?" She went on and on. Sasuke grit his teeth as he chucked a pillow at the pink haired girl. She dodged, barely.

Tsunade sighed, "Sakura, why don't you come back in a few hours." Sakura started to object, "Leave Sakura!" Tsunade yelled. She eeped as she ran out of the room, starting to cry herself.

The village leader sighed as she looked at the Uchiha. 'She wasn't kidding when she said that she told him and that he remembered.' She thought to herself. She was surprised when Sasuke leaned into her embrace instead of pulling away. Strangely enough she didn't mind. She knew that they needed each other right now. They sat content for a few more minutes. Sasuke kept muttering how it was all his fault.

"Sasuke here you go, Naruto asked me to give these to you. This wasn't your fault and she wouldn't want you to think otherwise." Sasuke sat back up and wiped his tears. He looked at Tsunade, her heart broke he looked _… so vulnerable_.

"T-thanks." He whispered. He grabbed the files and got even more upset as he read. After about fifteen minutes he closed the file and threw it onto the nightstand. It already had over a dozen get well cards. He shook his head too tired to even wipe them off.

"Great. My brother killed the clan, but it was all false. It was all a lie. The thing I've been working towards isn't even real. And now my damn sister, my best friend got banished because of me. Or would have, but still. And now I have who the hell knows who, probably Sakura getting me get well cards. Then they just ignore Naruto who saved them all? What the hell is wrong with everybody?" He asked, he threw his head back when he saw that the Hokage had her necklace back.

He remembered how happy the Dobe was when he told people about it. It was one of his -her- only gifts that she got. It just seemed more real now that Tsunade had it back. He thought to himself about how hard that must have been for her to take it off. She always had it on.

Tsunade scoffed, "Like I did any better. Did you know that it was her that convinced me to come back here? To be the great Hokage? It's all a joke." She got quieter as she spoke.

He shook his head. He didn't know but it sounded like something only she could do. They talked for a while, not ready to be alone in their loss. She answered any questions he may have. They just told each other about memories or troubles they had. (Mainly with the village)

"So do want to go with me to the council meeting? You'll probably want to tell them a few things." Tsunade said sarcastically. Sasuke laughed bitterly, "I would love to."

She snorted and shook her head. They both got up and headed for the door.

After the council meeting. (I know I'm really sorry but If I were to write the council meeting which I did it turned into this HUGE rant. It didn't really fit. Everybody knows Naruto was banished. That she is female but NOT her heritage.) Konoha 12 got their letters. Most were disgusted in the village, others (like Sakura) thought they did the right thing. Tsunade and Sasuke surprisingly got closer. But overall something was missing in the village that only a few recognized. The wind stopped blowing, the world lost its color. Sasuke tried to get closer to some of them, mainly because he knew that Naruto would want him to try and be happy. But also, they would ask him questions. About her since they all knew he knew her the best. They all mostly ignored Sakura since she saw nothing wrong with what happened.

But it was and probably never will be the same.


	3. Chapter Two

This is all edited and then some, once again you should read it. Even if it's a review. There are minor changes besides grammar and such. (:

\- -} Baby steps {- -

Naruto exhaled as she pulled on her ninja sandals. She paused at the door to look at her reflection in a mirror. Her hair was in a French braid that reached the bottom of her shoulder blades. She wore a basic navy blue tank top, black ANBU pants that were taped. She also wore a long navy blue cloak, she decided to wait to put on her face mask until she left Suna. It funnily reminded her of her previous senseis'. If you could even call Kakashi that but whatever. She shook her head and left her hotel room, backpack on her shoulders.

After the walk to the gates, she smiled when she saw the Gaara and Temari there. The coppery head walked up to them and decided that the sooner she finished her goodbyes, the less time she would need to spend in this scorching heat.

"Hey guys!" They both smiled, "Where's Kankuro?" She asked after a few minutes. Gaara glared into the endless sand as Temari sighed, "He said that it was too early to get up. But, he asked us to give this to you. I guess he had extra wood from his dolls or something." She said as she handed the package to the younger blond nearly hesitantly. Naruto however only snorted, she would agree if she didn't need to get a move on.

Naruto made a face of confusion as she grabbed the package. She felt around the box and shook it, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She tore away the paper and opened the box. She smiled softly as she took it out.

Inside was a mask similar to an ANBUs but it was a fox. It was a dusty white and the whiskers were red.

"I-I told him not to do-" Temari started but was cut off by a hug. "It's great. Tell him I love it okay?"

Naruto stated as she pulled away from the hug. Temari didn't even bother to show her surprise from the hug, "I'm glad you like it, I'll tell him." She smiled, nodding when she turned back to Gaara.

They stayed for a minute until Gaara spoke up, "Temari can you give us a minute?" She nodded, smiling at her friends before heading back. Naruto willed away tears as she knew that she was about to part from yet another friend, but she knew it was for the best. They just stared at each other for a while, "Naruto," He started, making sure that he had her attention. She nodded, seeming to hold her breath.

"You changed me those years ago. If not for you I don't know where I would be now. I am the Kage of my village, I have a family, people to protect and people who admire me. You gave me what I have never thought to be possible. You changed my life for the better. But now yours was taken. I'm sorry this happened to you, I really am. Is there anything I can do before you go?" He said quietly yet sincerely, never breaking eye contact. She took a shaky breath as she stepped up to hug him goodbye.

"You deserve it. I just need some time. I'm glad you changed, you always had this. You just never realized it. Thank you, I'll come by again don't worry." He nodded reluctantly. They talked for a few minutes until it was time for Garra to go. (Stupid paper work. *Tsunade sneezes.*)

Naruto stared out of the gates for a minute. Gold, it was just like individual grains of the rare substance. She looked down at her face mask, it was black. When she put it on it pulled up till the bridge of her nose, masking her mouth, nose and more importantly her whiskers. She put on the ANBU mask that now shielded her oceanic eyes. She finally pulled on the hood to her cloak that hid the last vital piece of her identification. Golden hair, bluest eyes and whiskers no longer visible. Nobody could tell that this figure was Naruto, good that was the point.

She started her journey, just walking with no destination in mind.

XXX

|One Year Later. Naruto is now sixteen|

A cloaked figure sighed as she stepped foot in the bar. She ignored the curious yet cautious looks as she made her way to a table in the back. She politely waited for the waiter as she scanned the area. Hiding a frown when she felt eyes on her. The person watching her was good. But she couldn't help but wonder thinking why they would be watching her of all people. There was no way that anybody could have any knowledge of who she was. Unless they have been monitoring her for a while. The frown deepened, this person had to be good at concealing themselves. 'Most likely a genjutsu specialist' she mused to herself.

"Hello, what can I get for you, uh... Sir?" The waitress asked. Naruto managed to stop herself from groaning. Why did it matter? It wasn't her job to stress over her gender. Her job was to fricken' take her order!? Kami, people these days.

"A bottle of stronger sake and some rice please." She said quietly. Her waitress' eyes widened, "O-oh I'm so sorry miss. I'll get that right away." She hurried off just in time to miss Naruto's whine. She looked down at her lap in thought.

Too busy talking with the fox about what to do next she missed the waitress bring her order. Having a few bites of rice, keeping her face masked through genjutsu she leaned back. The presence she felt earlier was back. She didn't know if they were hostile or not. If they were, wouldn't they stay hidden until her guard was down? She finished her bottle of sake and left the money on the wooden table.

She sighed contently when she stepped outside. The wind caressed her cloak. She frowned when she looked down. All of those missing nins really did a number on her apparel. She fought the urge do whine, this was what she wore when she was with Ero-sannin when she was younger. Of course, it would wear down over the many years but this was her favorite. As she walked to her hotel room she figured it be best if she got some new clothes.

XXX

She inserted the key to the hotel room that would be hers for the next week. She loved this town. While she was with Jiraiya she discovered that she actually had a bit of skill with gambling unlike Tsunade. She was currently in a popular gambling town located in Spring Country. She grimaced at the thought of how she helped the Damaiyo. While bandits were more than easy to take down, the group was huge. But it was worth it, after all here she was.

She opened the door and looked around. It was a pretty basic room. The bed was near the wall, opposite of the wall with a dresser. In one of the corners there was a T.V. Next to the small desk there was the bathroom. She resisted the urge to squeal at the sight of the soaker tub. She hasn't had a hot bath for a few months now. Only the showers and the rivers.

Going back to make sure the door was locked, she also put up a few privacy seals. When she was happy with her lonesomeness she took off her cloak and threw it on the desk. Both of her masks soon followed. She rubbed her neck tiredly as she stepped back into the bathroom. Turning on the water so that it was hot she took off her clothes.

Slipping into the steaming water she relaxed as the water soothed her tense muscles. It felt so nice. After a couple hours later, she slipped back out. Wrapping a towel around her hair she dried off the rest of her body. Grabbing another fluffy towel, she wrapped herself. She secured it and stepped out of the room.

Only to stop in her tracks based on two things. First off, she was no longer alone. And two, there was a kunai at her throat. She cursed herself for not being more careful. This was the same presence that she felt on and off all day. She never even sensed the intruder. She tried to talk to the fox, only to cry internally when she found him either ignoring her or sleeping. Either way she would get the fox back for this, assuming she made it out of this alive.

Clearing her throat she slowly started to raise her hands, to tell them she meant no harm. She gasped when she felt a strong arm come around her side, through her waist so her arms were pulled back down. The arms were surprisingly warm considering that the room grew colder since she discovered that there was an intruder. She frowned when she still couldn't get an exact chakra signature.

"Ok you win, what do you want?" She asked stoically. The body behind her relaxed a bit but still didn't put down the kunai. She barley suppressed a shudder when the voice came, ghosting across her neck and ear. "Just came to say hello. Where's the harm in that, Naru?" She froze.

When it all registered she ignored the kunai and spun around, backing up. " 'Hells your problem?! What are you even doing here?" She hissed. The man in question stayed in the shadows but you could see his silhouette shrug. "Like I said before just came to say hello. I mean It's not like I had anything better to do. I also wanted to come see my best friend again, was I wrong to do that?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

She stayed put trying to stay calm on the outside, which was the complete opposite of what she was on the inside. "I don't know are you gonna go join another secret organization? Just leave again?" She asked evenly. The man in question sighed. "No, are you?" He replied.

She rose an eyebrow, "Leave? I got kicked out, I didn't leave on my own terms." The man nodded, this wasn't exactly how he planned this little reunion to go. They stayed quiet for a minute. Naruto sighed and sat down on the bed, "Are you going to explain why you're here or not."

The man sighed, "Well since my little 'secret organization' was ruined thanks to a little fox I decided to travel on my own. Then I got wind of an exceptional fighter that popped out of nowhere about a year ago. Just decided to see if they knew who my friend was. I missed her, you know after almost 10 years." He said light-heartedly. He sighed when he saw Naruto glare, this really wasn't going how he wanted.

"Well you never answered my question. Are you just going to leave after all of this?" She said trying not to yell. "I promise I'm here to stay. At least not until you go with me." He replied. It was quiet for a few seconds. They both tried not to cry. He didn't know that she would be this upset. She was just so mad at the moment. She nodded and stood up, walking across the room and giving the other a fierce hug that he returned.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, the towel holding her hair having fell off when she sat down on the bed, her hair was still wet. He wrapped his bigger arms around her waist, picking her up a few inches. Naruto buried her head in the guys chest.

"Thank kami your back. I missed you so much Itachi." She whispered. The other nodded and they only held each other. Itachi nuzzled his best friends neck, tears springing to his eyes.

Too long. Far too long.


	4. Chapter Three

Naruto nuzzled further into Itachi's neck. He smelled like something between ash and honey. She found that she liked the smell, familiar, even at a long distance. He tightened his hold on her waist and walked over to the bed sitting down. Both of them just enjoyed seeing each other after so many years. After a few minutes Naruto remembered that she was only in a towel and went to go change.

Coming back out in a tank top and shorts she sat down near the desk. Taking a look at how much he changed she hid a frown. He wore a plain black shirt and ANBU pants with fishnet, simple yet attractive. "So… how have you been?" She asked, not knowing how to exactly handle this situation. She never really thought that they would meet up again, even if that was what she always wanted to do.

"Nothing much. It was a pretty big shock when the leader of Akatsuki died. After we broke up I was just traveling around, then I heard of someone extremely powerful. I tried to find her, not every day you run into techniques like yours you know." He teased. She sighed, "Not like anybody can handle the way I fight either. I hear that it's not exactly healthy."

He chuckled quietly, "Yah, I guess not. What about you?" She looked down for a minute, "Pretty much the same, mainly staying out of Fire country though. Just like you I guess. What do you mean by you heard of me by the way? I thought I did a pretty good job with witnesses."

He mocked shock, "Do you not stay updated? I thought that _the_ Shadow Fox would know better." She rose an eyebrow, "Shadow Fox? That's kinda sad, in addition to ironic." He tsked and pulled out the latest bingo book. "Says the person with who has relations with a fox and has a fox mask. Check out page 22."

Naruto glared at him, "Hardy-har-har." He smiled.

"Page 22, okay."

(This is the page)

'Name: Unknown (NO PHOTO)

Age: Most likely late teens

Gender: Female

Country: Unknown

Status: Unknown

Rank: S

Bounty: 1.5 million ryu

Specialties: Uses the shadow at will. Kenjutsu, Fuinjutsu, Taijutsu,

Aliases: Shadow Fox, Flash Fox.

Apparel: Dusty white fox mask, navy blue hooded cloak.

Warnings: Do not engage. Try to run away.'

She rose an eyebrow, "First off that's depressing how general that is. Secondly, how did you figure that that, was me?" He smirked, "It's not like I had anywhere to go. I mean if it wasn't you, I just keep looking."

She looked away, hiding a smile. "I guess. Now what's yours like?"

"I took mine out. However, it actually has info. Rank is S as well. But I'm at 3 million, so there." She laughed, "Maybe I'll catch up one day than." Their chuckles died down, the air was so thick it was almost awkward. "So, what do you plan on doing?" Itachi asked.

She rubbed her face tiredly, which made sense since it was almost 3 AM. "I don't know, sleep? I booked the room for a week, after that I was thinking about heading to Mist for a while, they still have a lot of nins after that huge bloodline purge. I heard they got a new Kage recently. What about you?" He sighed, "To be honest I've been looking for you for the last year, so stick with you. Whether or not you like it or not, you're pretty much stuck with me."

Silence…

"OK…. Well it's getting really late. Are you going to get a room?" She asked. He hid a smirk and shook his head. She looked confused, "What, why not? What are you going to do then?" "I'm staying with you." He nodded sagely. She looked baffled, "W-who said you could stay here?"

"Can I not stay Naru? I thought you missed me after so long." He hurt. She turned red, from embarrassment or anger he didn't know. He was having too much fun to care at the moment, he really missed her. She looked down and wringed her hands out muttering about how unfair this all was. She threw her hands back up, "You can't say that! How it that fair? Fine, stay I don't care anymore. I'm too tired to deal with this." She replied.

He smirked, then couldn't hide his shock when she came and pushed him off _their_ bed. (*Her bed but what's the difference?) He popped his head off of the floor, his eyes widened ever so slightly, "What was that for?" He asked.

She sat back up from the covers and smirked, "What? I'm not sleeping on the couch. It's my room after all." He narrowed his eyes, "There is no couch." She gasped, "What? Oh, I am so sorry I never realized that, my bad." He pouted, "Why can't I sleep on the bed with you?"

She leaned back on her arms on the bed. "Because, there is a nice spot right there." She pointed to the door, _downwards_. He gaped, "What am I your dog?" She shrugged and slipped back into bed, turning off the lamp in one fluid movement. "I don't know, maybe. It's not my problem. Good night, Itachi." With the lights off there was no point to hide his sulking, nor her relieved smile.

XXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXX

Naruto sighed happily as she snuggled deeper into her pillow. 'It's so warm, nice morning.' She thought. She froze when she realized that her pillow was moving. 'What?' She opened her eyes and growled.

"I told you not on the bed!" She yelled as she pushed Itachi back off. She threw the blankets back over her head. "So much for a good morning." She mumbled to herself.

Itachi stood back up pretty fast. "Good morning to you too you know. You didn't have to push me off though." He said dryly. "What was wrong with the floor?" He drew a blank momentarily, "I..Uh…It was… very uncomfortable." He tried, very hard. She threw a pillow at him and went to go change. Itachi just sighed, 'Why must she be difficult.' He thought as he fixed his pony tail.

Naruto came out a few minutes later in more civilian like clothes. Simple black pants and a red tank top with a jacket. "So, what now?" Itachi asked as he finished, discreetly, checking her out. She rose an eyebrow, "Well I am going to go through the town. Gamble, shop and eat. What are you going to do?" He moved to the door with her following, "Gamble, shop and eat, after you..." He replied as he opened the door, signaling her to go out with his arm.

She scoffed and lightly pushed his arm as she walked out, hiding a soft smile. After they hit a smaller café for breakfast they went to a couple other shops. "What exactly are you looking for today?" Itachi asked as he rubbed his hands together. She sighed, "My other clothes were getting old, I've had them for a few years, ever since my training with the pervert, so I figured I could use a change. Do you have any other clothes?" He shook his head, "No not really, though I could use a change as well."

|Later that day|

Itachi groaned from off the grass. That flip really hurt. They got bored with the market around seven, since it was late spring the sun would still have a few more hours till it went down. So, they did what logical ninjas would do… Spar.

It wasn't going so great for Itachi. He didn't expect her to be so good. Seems like time gave her the ability to improve her skills.

"Ugh. That was harsh." Naruto laughed as she knelt down to his eye level. She hummed, "No, it was a spar. A pretty sad one at that too. Were you even trying?" He huffed as he glared only gaining a smirk in response. Naruto pulled him back up and they headed back to the hotel.

Once they got to the hotel they sat on the bed on opposite ends eating some food they got from takeout. It was quiet as Itachi was trying to think of how to approach what was on his mind. Naruto sighed, "What are you thinking about? If you want to ask something just ask."

Itachi glanced back up at her than set his food down. "I know you haven't been home for some time…'' He ignored Naruto's glare and continued. "But I was wondering ho-how was Sasuke when you last saw him?"

Naruto's eyes lit up in recognition and let go of the 'home' comment. She played with her rice for a bit than sighed and set it down next to the ravens. "First off, that's not my home. But… uh, he seemed pretty good. He lost the memory seal, that's why he came back. He seemed less distant as well, or at least to me. But, I just screwed that up. But last I saw him which was a week or so before Pein attacked he seemed good. Less avengy-like."

He nodded than stopped, "That's good but, what do you mean by a week before the attack and how would you screw that up? Didn't you talk to him at all? What happened?" She looked down and saddened. Looking up her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears, small bitter smile gracing her features. She told him what happened.

"As you know Sasuke came back about eight months before the attack. He would look at me strangely, he probably remembered me from when we were younger. In my girl form anyway. So anyway, Jiraiya died than a few weeks later, Pein attacked. I beat him pretty much by myself, most of the others were helping civilians or passed out. Or just too scared, not that you could really blame them. Nobody visited me, but then again why would they? As you know Konoha only saw me as a demon, that's why it's not my home. I don't have one. But the day after the attack I got banished. I had '24 hours or else the ANBU would make sure that I couldn't harm anybody else.' Or at least that's what they said, the civilian council. Tsunade and the clan heads were out of the meeting that's how it passed. But, I left that same night. But I couldn't just leave. So, I wrote letters."

Naruto started to cry silently as she talked. Itachi just listened intently. Though, he started to get more worried and upset the more he did. He held her hand but didn't say anything.

"I wrote to the graduating class and their senseis. But the hardest ones were, Tsunade and Sasuke. But I couldn't just leave without giving him anything. So… I told him about your mission. I also gave him a picture from his seventh birthday, the ones in the garden. I just.. I, I knew that it was bad not being there for him when he found out. I just left him there, I don't know how he's doing now or anything. But- he knows now and I just left him there when the only reason he came back was to know the truth. That's how I messed up."

Itachi absorbed all he could but stayed silent. He knew that Sasuke was tough and that he would be ok. Inwardly he was somewhat relieved that Sasuke now knew. But looking at the blond now he couldn't help but wonder if it was the right call. He knew it was a good idea for Sasuke but right now, it didn't seem that great to Naru.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Itachi spoke up. "You know Naruto, I still think that you did the right thing. Sasuke is strong, that's how I knew that he would be ok in your care when he was younger. But, now he's older and more open. He'll be fine. So, you did the right thing, ok?" Naruto looked at him and nodded hesitantly as she stopped crying. "Thanks, Tachi." He smiled. They continued to talk for about another hour before they both fell asleep.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

Over the next week they did what Naruto was planning on originally, just with a plus one. On the first day that they met up they put an order for new clothes in and they picked them up on the day that they were going to leave. They now stood by the town gates and started to head to the Mist.

Itachi wore pretty much the same thing as he did before. He still had fishnet but it went to his elbows and a black muscle shirt that had the Uchiha symbol embroidered on by Naruto in the bottom right corner. He had plain black shinobi sandals and a black cloak that clasped by the clan symbol again. To be honest he was happy that he could wear it now, knowing that Sasuke knew what happened.

Naruto however changed her attire quite a bit. She had black shorts that ended mid-thigh and black boots that went to her ankles but, had red stockings that went a couple inches above her knees. She wore a red tank top over long sleeved fishnet that went around her ring finger. She actually grew attached to the title shadow fox. She ignored Kuramas boasting about how it was thanks to him that she got the title when she got her cloak. The cloak was longer and trained in the back with the hood. It was a charcoal grey and had the kanji for ShadouKitsune on the back going down in a dark red.

Naruto was only wearing her face mask right now and not her ANBU mask as they were walking through the opening. They weren't really talking but that was fine for them. After a few hours of walking they decided to take a break for lunch. Naruto set up the camp and Itachi went to go get the food.

Naruto finished with the camp fire when she actually looked around. It was easy to tell that they were getting close since you could smell a lot of salt, mainly from the surrounding oceans to the country. Naruto sighed as she pulled over a log to sit on near the fire.

Itachi came not to long after that with a few fish, nuts and berries. They snacked on the berries and nuts while the fish cooked. It wasn't long before Itachi spoke, "So what made you decide to go to Mist? There had to be more to it than just going after the missing nins."

Naruto hid her surprise quite well but Itachi was able to tell. She sighed when she realized that there were no secrets between them. They both knew each other well, maybe even too well. She thought for a second on how to put it. She didn't want to tell anybody but this was Itachi after all.

"You're right, in fact I'm not even there to kill the missing nins, you could say I want to recruit them." She said than looked to see his reaction. If it wasn't such a serious matter than she would have laughed. "What?" He was, dare she say, adorably, confused. She sighed and scratched her scalp, it would take a while to tell him.

"Ok, so when I went on the training trip with Jiraiya we traveled as you know. We traveled around a lot but we spent almost a year in Mist helping them out with their uprising."

Itachi stopped her right there. "Why?" Naruto glared. He looked normal but you could see the little bit of embarrassment in his eyes from cutting her off twice already.

"This will probably help. When I was still a genin with team seven we got our first C rank about three maybe four months after we graduated. The problem was that Momochi Zabuza was involved, bringing it up to an A rank. We did the mission and stuff, Kakashi always thought that he killed Zabuza and his apprentice. But in reality us three, Haku; his apprentice, Zabuza and I talked. We found a way for them to fake their deaths. I used some blood clones that would last a couple of hours after the initial death. They escaped. You following?" She asked and received a semi-confused look and a nod.

"Ok, so after that Zabuza and Haku and I raided the evil pigs base. They kept most of the money and I kept most of the Uzumaki artifacts that he stole from the Uzu ruins. After that they went back to Mist and pretty much funded the uprising. Than a couple months after that was the chunnin exams, then your brother defected. I went on my training trip than got a letter from him seeing if I could help. I of course agreed even though Ero- sannin didn't agree that we should go. He thought that it was a trap. I persuaded him that it wasn't and we went."

Itachi nodded but he was even more confused. _Ok, but what was up with the missing nins then?_ He thought. Naruto saw his look and hung her head, he was making this difficult.

"Ok, so we went to Mist and helped. This took place like, my second mid- third year of the trip. Once we got their I met the leader of the retaliation, her name's Mei Terumi. She's the current Kage there. Zabuza was her right hand man in all of this. But anyway, her and I get along really well. People actually thought we were related at first. I always thought that it was weird, so did she actually. But, a lot of people were saying it so we looked into it. It turns out that her family were actual blood relatives to the Uzumaki. So long story short we're related."

Itachi was really surprised. He knew that Naruto must be happy that she had actual family, blood that was still alive. He kept his thoughts to himself and waited for her to continue.

"So, I stayed there for a while and we won the war. She's actually been the leader for a while but they just got it all official that's why it just started to go around. About a month ago she sent me a letter. It turns out that most of the mist nins that are missing, ran away when the previous kage ruled and only left because they didn't like what he was doing. Mei asked me to see if I can convince any to return and since she learned about my banishment, see if I would want to stay."

He took it all in than spoke. "So pretty much you know the Mizukage, personally, and she wants you to return missing nins since they didn't want to leave the country, just the previous ruler?"

Naruto thought for a minute, "Yeah, that's pretty much it." He just sat for a minute than chuckled lightly, of course she would be friends with a country's government leadership. What else could it have been?

"So, are we going to stay there then?" He asked. He actually likef the idea quite a bit. Sure, it's not Konoha but it would be nice to have a place to call home for a while. He missed having a home, but then again wherever Naruto was, then that would be his home.

She laughed lightly, "We, eh? Uh, I don't know. I'll just see how it goes. What would you want to do?" She wanted help, she didn't want to cause any potential problems for her sister figures new country. But, then again she wanted to see what Itachi wanted to do. She didn't want to force him into something that he didn't want to do. Plus, she couldn't decide right now. Her hopes were crushed when he only shrugged.

She sighed dejectedly. She nearly jumped when Itachi stood up quickly. She saw happiness in his eyes and smiled. "What?" She asked.

Itachi calmed himself. This was actually great. One of the only things he like about the Akatsuki was his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. They had similar stories after all. He scolded himself a little when he realized that he was slow about what Naruto was saying. Kisame himself didn't want to leave the country, in fact he often boasted about how great it all was, besides the leader of course. They always talked about wanting to go home but couldn't since they were rouge. He would be so happy to hear this!

"Hey, did she maybe give you a list about what nins to gather?" He asked, masking his hope. She eyed him wearily for a moment. "Yeah, she did, why? Do you have a name?" She asked than her eyes lit up when she realized where he was going with it. When they were in the previous town he always talked about another of the seven swordsmen and partner in the Akastuki, his partner Kisame.

She didn't really give him time to respond. "Do you think that Kisame would really come back? He was personally requested by a lot of the people there. They would love it if he came back." He nodded, happy that his partner would be able to go home.

"Yeah, we always talked about going back to our home villages. If I were to send him a summons he would probably meet us within a couple days." She nodded and smiled, "Well, what are you waiting for then?" He shook his head with a smile. Kisame would be so happy and he actually missed his partner a little bit.

Not even five minutes after he sent it, the summons returned with a letter saying that Kisame would meet with them in two days' time. At a town that they could get to tomorrow. So, they said that they would see him then. Who knows? Maybe this could be a better start for the three of them.


	5. Chapter Four

After Itachi and Naruto received the summons that reported that Kisame would agree to meet up with them in a couple of days, they spent the night on the road. Naruto listened as Itachi talked, which was actually surprising since Uchiha's aren't one for showing any emotion, let alone talking. Naruto was oddly entranced as she listened to Itachi talk. He explained more about Kisame and what they were doing out on the road and how close they were. Naruto understood one thing, loud and clear that was a mutual interest between the two.

They both wanted a place to call home.

Naruto still didn't know what to do after she helped Mei and Zabuza out. She was still cautious about how other villages would react when they found out that the new Mist was taking in rouges that weren't from their own country. Naruto didn't want to ruin the possible chance of a peace treaty between any possible countries. But, if she had to admit it she would like a place to reside in a little more personally, more than just a hotel room at least. For a little while at least.

Naruto glanced at the raven as they were finishing packing up. He was actually smiling. It was faint but definitely there. Naruto sighed, it was obvious that the old Akatsuki partners were close. Itachi must have welcomed any siblingship that he could when he was gone. If she didn't know better she would say that they were very close. Brotherly close. (That was a lot of closeness)

Itachi took notice that Naruto was watching him. He was happy, really happy to see Kisame after a year or so. He didn't know how Naruto was taking it in though. She was oddly quiet ever since she told him that she had family. It was distant but blood nonetheless. He didn't know why she would be upset, well he knew that she was upset but this was a new level.

Naruto had different levels of emotion just like everybody else. She was usually a level headed person, quite the opposite of her male personelle. She was still adventurous, just more calm or quiet; however, you would want to phrase it. Naruto usually got loud when she was upset. That was when you knew it would be ok. Granted, someone may go to the hospital, everything would be ok regardless of any injuries. The only time that you had to worry, for yourself and the blond was when she was quiet.

Like now for instance.

Itachi knew what she was worried about though. The reason why she was like this wasn't what made him edgy. It was what would happen when she figured out what she wanted to do. He knew he would want to go to the Mist, the offer on the table was a good one. He would get to be with Naruto and he would see Kisame, the only thing that he would want more would be to see his otoutu again. He would actually get to sleep on a bed, his bed. He would get to live a semi-normal life again. But he didn't know if he would want that without Naruto.

He knew that he liked her. Hell, he loved her and he knew it. He just didn't know when to say anything. After all, she was his best friend for as long as he could remember. He honestly didn't know what he would do without her now that they reconnected on some degree. He didn't know if she felt the same way or anything. So, he was waiting. He didn't want to push her into anything. That included staying in the Mist, or a relationship or anything else that may come in between.

They both stayed quiet as they walked to the next town. They would get there in a few hours, walking at a civilian pace. They were deep in their thoughts and they didn't mind the silence.

They came to the town much sooner than they thought they would. Itachi was getting worried for Naruto. He never knew her to be this quiet. The only other time he heard her to be this quiet was when he told him about the massacre. Itachi remembered going to her apartment right after going to file a report at the Hokage tower. He was covered in blood and was scared, terrified even. He remembered begging her and begging her that it was all a dream and he didn't just leave his brother alone with no family.

Her silence was deafening. Sure, she comforted him but she wasn't talking to him. Comforting and talking were different, she didn't let him in. Instead she held her own pain in for him and helped him through it. Itachi remembered the utterly devastated look on her face when he told her that he had to leave. Somehow that look of betrayal, that was changed to understanding way too fast to be considered real, hurt him far worse than killing his family.

He only wanted to help her. To hold her like she held him that night. He knew that this was a hard choice for her. She didn't want to risk her sister figures country just because she wanted to feel safe. She didn't know whether she wanted to stay and actually live a life without having to watch her back constantly or ensure that her family could be safe themselves.

Just like the choice Itachi asked her to make. He felt so bad. It was so similar to the situation years ago it was scary. Itachi asked her to watch Sasuke and stay in the home that hated her instead of getting a fresh start for his sake. And here he was, asking her the same question just tweaked ever so slightly. Stay where she could feel safe but her family is in 'danger.' Or continue living her life, constantly on alert, but her loved ones would be 'safe.' He didn't know what to do at the moment but blame himself. Here he was, asking, no nearly blackmailing her to choose to stay in the Mist.

Itachi was so caught up in her thoughts that he didn't realize that they got to a hotel. It was nearly two in the afternoon, so Itachi was surprised that they went straight to the hotel. He didn't question her and only followed her. Naruto suddenly stopped on the second floor and rested her head on the wall. She slid down and pulled her hood off. She still kept her face mask on and stayed quiet. Itachi showed worry in his eyes. He kneeled down and hesitantly grabbed her shoulder.

Naruto looked up when she felt Itachis hand on her arm. She had no idea what to do! She had no idea if she wanted to stay in Mist or not. She was scared that they would hate her like Konoha. Konoha was never 'home,' only people that she could consider family. But they all left her or she left them at some point. She didn't know if she could handle having a place to call home. She never had anything to compare it with.

But, Itachi wanted it. She knew that he wanted it bad. She didn't want to hold him back or force him in a position he didn't want. She just didn't know. She didn't want to force the country of Mist into certain alliances or deny them any. But, deep down she knew that she wanted this. She did want a place to call home. The people there liked her for helping them with their war. Bur could she chance Mist for her own selfish reasons?

Itachi looked at her and was honestly surprised when he saw unshed tears. Naruto showed emotion all the time, it was in her eyes that he loved oh, so much. But she never actually cried. Her own pride could rival an Uchihas if the situation called for it. He sighed sadly and hugged her protectively, not that he minded at all.

Naruto leaned on him but didn't cry, only seeking comfort in his embrace. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Naruto sniffled and got up but Itachi didn't let her go. She looked at him questioningly but he just shook his head, otherwise his facial expression was on Uchiha mode.

She let him tug her along to their room and walked in with him towards the bed. Itachi unhooked both of their cloaks and drew her to the bed silently. He folded the blankets back and laid down. Naruto was looking down trying to hide the small blush that developed without permission. She was about to walk to her bed that was only a few feet way but he tugged her down. She yelped on accident and tried to push off. He just tightened his hold around her waist.

Naruto sighed dejectedly and turned around and buried her face in her chest, hiding her light blush. She barely remembered the last time that they held each other like this besides the day he broke into her hotel room. She was deeply glad that he didn't turn her down or run away. For the first time in a long time she felt safe, here in his arms.

Itachi was surprised when she actually let herself lay down with him but he froze in momentary shock when she actually returned the embrace. He remained passive externally but internally told a whole different story. He was so happy that she was letting him hold her like he was wanting to not even five minutes ago. He still felt like crap with the fact that he was making her choose what to do with Mist. But, he did feel better that she was letting him help her in his own way.

Itachi just held her for a few minutes thinking about what would come and what has come. He still couldn't believe that he found her after a year and them going to Mist than being able to see Kisame again. It all seemed surreal. He looked down at Naruto and smiled when he realized that she fell asleep. He sighed and caressed her arm lightly. After a few minutes he got up reluctantly to go get some food. He had no doubt that Naru would be hungry when she woke up, so it would be easier on her if she didn't need to go anywhere.

Naruto frowned lightly at the loss of extra body heat and grabbed a pillow, snuggling up with it. She faintly heard the door close and registered that Itachi left. She wasn't worried, he was a big boy and could take care of himself. She fell back asleep at ease.

Itachi came back nearly half an hour later, tired. It was about three now, most of the restaurants were busy. Itachi very quietly, with practiced ease as he put the food in a mini fridge and went to go check on Naruto. He smiled when he saw her. She was curled on her side and was snoring lightly through her mouth. Cute.

He carefully removed the pillow from her grasp and removed it with himself. He turned to his side and pulled her close. He stroked her hair and fell asleep a short time later.

A few hours later Naruto woke up, blinking away any extra tiredness. She frowned when she felt and extra weight on her chest. She looked down and smiled, dusting pink. Itachi was resting his head in between her neck and shoulder. His arm was snuggly draped across her waist and their legs were intertwined. Naruto's blush faded and moved her right arm to carefully untie his pony tail.

His hair fell a little past his shoulders, like silk. It certainly felt like it. The thought made her laugh than stopped when she saw Itachi fidget. She sighed and moved a bit to get more comfortable. She kept playing with his hair deep in thought. When she was in her mind scape she spent time with Kurama since they haven't been able to talk a lot since he knew that she would want some time to talk to her childhood friend with no intrusions.

Kurama managed to convince her to stay in Mist, at least for a little while. He was able to ease most of her worries and actually swayed her enough to get excited about going there. She hasn't seen Zabuza, Mei or Haku for a little over two years, before she went back to Konoha. It would be fun to see them for a while. Zabuza and Mei certainly got close when she was there, she wondered how they were doing.

She looked down at Itachi and mentally nodded. Going there would be for the best. Itachi would get to be in the clear for a while, not being a missing nin any longer. She made the mental note of how many nins would be able to go back home now. The thought made her smile. She only wanted a few things in life. Surprisingly becoming Hokage wasn't ever a true goal of hers.

She wanted to be a ninja, check. Find her heritage, check. Find a place to call home, nope. And have her own family, and nope. She glanced at Itachi unwillingly and told herself that it couldn't happen. He deserved somebody better. Somebody who hadn't let him and his family down.

If this worked out in Mist than she would at least get a home. If she was lucky than he would continue to be her best friend. But she wanted him to be happy, he deserved it. She could live with moments like these.

Itachi woke up to somebody rubbing his scalp. He quietly purred, he could get used to this. He snuggled deeper into the pillow when he heard it laugh. His eyes shot open, in the Uchiha way mind you, and looked up. He was able to keep from blushing externally but it took him a minute to gain enough courage to speak. Narutos blue eyes slowly danced with mirth, still rubbing his head.

Itachi awkwardly moved his arm, "…Sorry." He mumbled. Naruto laughed but didn't move her hand. "Eh, you're fine. Tired?" He yawned under his hand, "Not anymore."

He leaned against the head board and popped his fingers. Naruto sat up next to him and yawned herself. "Man, I'm tired."

Itachi smiled and got up. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" Naruto called out. Itachi didn't answer until he came back with a bag of food and two sets of chopsticks. "Food, I went to go get some when you first fell asleep. I figured you would be hungry so ta-da, food!" He spoke with a slight tone of humor.

Naruto fake gasped and reached for the bags. "Oh, you know me so well. Tachi'." She inhaled and smiled, it smelt good. She looked inside and found rice, chicken and some vegetables. She heard Itachi laugh and he sat down next to her, reaching for his own container and handing her a pair of chopsticks. They talked for a couple hours until they heard a knock at the door. They looked at each other questioningly, after they heard thee person knock for a second time Itachi got up to go see who it was at that hour.

Naruto continued to eat her food. She couldn't tell who it was since the room was split in three, the dining/ kitchen/ living, bedroom and the bathroom. She dropped her chopsticks in surprise when she heard who it was.

"Kisame!" Itachi said louder yet still using the Uchiha voice.

Naruto rounded the corner quietly and watched their interaction with interest.

"I thought that you weren't going to be here until tomorrow." Itachi stated with a hidden question.

Kisame grinned, "Well you know me. Ninjas have their ways after all." Itachi shook his head with a smirk. After they talked for a couple more minutes Naruto went to go get her food. She came back and sat at the desk quietly, they still haven't noticed her since they were having fun catching up. They stayed in the doorway for about five minutes until Naruto spoke up.  
"Itachi, why don't you let him come in. That way you can talk more, I'm sure he's tired, ninja or not."

Kisame jumped and peered behind Itachi with a look of interest. Itachi hung his head in embarrassment and mumbled to himself for a second until he looked back up with a small smile and opened the door wider.

Kisame stepped in but stayed close to Itachi. He had a weird look of guilt making Naruto laugh. She wasn't a hundred percent sure but she would think that he felt bad about the whole, 'I'm going to kidnap you after I let my giant sword eat off your arms,' when he was still in the organization.

Naruto threw her food away and walked over to the shark like man. "Well, It's nice to officially meet you Kisame, on different circumstances. I'm going to go out for a while so you guys can catch up."

He grinned and shook her hand. "Where are you going?" Itachi asked. Naruto shrugged, "I don't know just for a walk. You guys have fun, I'll see you later." She waved and left out the door that Itachi still had open.

After Naruto left it was quiet for a minute. Itachi shut the door with a sigh. "Well, I can see why you like her when she's not dressed up like a male." Kisame broke the silence. Itachi dusted light pink. The only way that you could tell that he would be blushing would be if you knew him personally, such as Kisame. Hence why he just laughed off the Uchihas glare.

The two guys sat on opposite beds and just talked for a while, catching up. They were both very happy but they eventually caught up to the present.

"What do are you guys going to do in the Mist?" Kisame asked, it wasn't hard to tell that Itachi was somehow avoiding the question. Itachi sighed, "I don't know. You know that I want to go, heck I just want a place to call home. At least for a little while. But, I want to stay with Naruto. To be honest, I don't think I can handle it if I stayed and she left so I'm going to do whatever she wants to do."

Kisame smiled, it was obvious that Itachi loved her. He rarely talked about her when they were in Akatsuki but when he did he always lit up with happiness. The same way as when he would talk about Sasuke. He was happy for him, he really was.

"So, what's the problem? Does she not want to stay there?" Sharkey asked. Itachi visibly slumped surprising Kisame. Itachi was not one for showing much emotion, talking was usually his limit. But he never physically showed what was up with him. Kisame actually backed up on the bed when he heard Itachi groan into his hands.

Maybe this wasn't Itachi.

After a second Itachi looked up, "I don't know. All I do know is that I'm an ass."

Kisame rose an eyebrow. The other rarely swore. "Eh?"

Itachi shifted on the bed, "I don't know what she wants to do. I'm forcing her to make a decision again. Back when I left Konoha she wanted to come with me. Konoha was an honest to kami hell hole for her. She only had a few people that she considered friends, but they were still lenient. I asked her to stay and watch Sasuke, Kisame. I made her stay for a mistake I made. Now I'm asking her to choose between me being happy or her legit families safety."

Kisame was shocked. He didn't know that Naruto didn't particularly like Konoha, he thought that she loved it. Finding out that she only stayed there because Itachi asked her to made him understand Itachis point of view. He really was an ass for doing that to her.

Wait,

"Family?" the blue male asked.

Itachi grunted and his eyes lit up strangely. "Yeah, Kisame Naruto is related to the Mizukage there. From her mother's side. It's a little down the line but it's still family."

Kisame looked at Itachi. They may be brothers in all but blood but still brothers. That would be why he felt no shame in saying this.

"Yeah, you are an ass." He whistled than laughed at Itachis expression. "So, are you just going to wait to see what she does?" He clarified.

Itachi sighed and nodded. "Yeah, we'll see." He said than hummed absentmindedly.

Kisame shook his head, he felt for him he really did. But what could he do? They wisely picked a different topic to talk about for a few hours. They silently wondered where the blond was but ignored it, knowing that she could take care of herself. It was about midnight when they fell asleep.

|With Naruto|

Naruto sighed walking down the streets of the semi-busy town. It was getting later so there weren't as many people around, mainly people going out for dinner or to hit a bar. It was around ten so she's been walking around for a few hours and was getting bored. She already knew that she was going to try Mist for a while at least and see how it goes. If problems started to pop up there than she would leave in peace. But, this could be her chance to be happy, she knew that. So she didn't really want to let that chance slip. Than it was a plus that Itachi would be happy.

She popped her mouth a few timed and twirled around making her cloak drag a bit. She stopped in front of a convenience store and figured that she would get some food and head back. She idly wondered what Kisame would like and decided to screw it and got him some sushi and rice. Once it got in her cart she laughed but didn't change her mind, _oh irony_. She got some boxes of pocky, protein bars, jerky, and some fruit and rice. All of it could either be eaten tonight or on the road tomorrow since they would hit Mist the next day around noon. She sighed and went to the check out.

She made it back to their hotel room about twenty minutes later. She opened the door and put the food on the table, she noticed the quiet and figured they were asleep. _Tired, obviously._ She just grabbed a piece of jerky and took a shower. She was somewhat surprised that they slept through it all but she figured that they felt safe, the thought made her smile. She leaned on the door way and watched as they slept on their different beds. She was wondering if Itachi would care if she slept with him again. Secretly wanting that warmth again but decided against it. She just got her sleeping roll out of a scroll and set it up in the living room and fell asleep.

Naruto woke up at about seven and got up since she couldn't get any more sleep. She was surprised (once more) that the other two hadn't woken up yet. She got ready for the day, not even trying to be quiet, but they continued to sleep soundly. She even took her time! But they just wouldn't wake up on their own. That would be why Naruto found guilty pleasure in doing so.

"Wake up, rise and shine! It's a beautiful morning and I am leaving in ten. Come or don't just get your butts out of bed right now!"

The results were immediate as they fell out of bed with such grace only a ninja elephant could possess. Naruto left the room laughing as they hurried and tried to get a weapon from themselves, not even checking the nightstands. As she left the room she heard twin curses and scrambling. Along with a possible vase breaking.

She grabbed her cloak and her bag than grabbed an apple from the table and headed for the couch to wait. They had five minutes. She looked up from the magazine when she saw them both finishing off the food from the table. Naruto sweatdropped.

Since when did Itachi act like a little kid? Not that she minded it was pretty funny. She had to guess that the two boys brought the different sides out of each other. She got up once her watch rang at eight AM, the usual time she woke up on a Saturday. Walking to the door she sighed when she heard yet, another thing in their room breaking and opened the door closing it as he left. She had to stop to keep herself from falling over in laughter when she heard twin thumps sound from the door.

Were they just not morning people?

They both followed obediently yet silently. They both sported blushes of embarrassment, which looked weird on a blue skinned person. It must have been an all-time low for them since they didn't talk the whole walk there. So it mainly consisted of Naruto asking how their heads were from the abuse of the deadly nightstands along with how many things they managed to kill, vase wise of course.

Naruto had a few good laughs though. Soon enough they came to the gates of Mist. The gate keeper recognized Naruto from her assistance with the war and greeted them warmly with no questions asked.

"Welcome to the Mist Naruto-san."

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YAY! Wow that really took forever. I think I'm happy with the fluff with the two relationships going on. Both sibling and awkward coupleness. (0.o) There's your chapter see you next time.


	6. Chapter Five

As they approached the gates to the Hidden Mist village the gate keepers jumped in recognition of their war hero. One stepped forward while the other went to open the gates, "Welcome to the Mist Naruto-san."

Naruto laughed lightly at Kisames face, he apparently he didn't like being ignored. She nodded in thanks telling them that the other two were with her. She felt kind of weird as she walked through the village. They were looking at her with no hate only as if she was a normal person. But the ninjas who recognized her made a bigger deal of welcoming her.

Kisame was glad to be back here, the salty air and the graveled streets. He missed it, his home. He sent a thoughtful look at his other two companions and frowned slightly when he saw that Naruto was uncomfortable. He glanced at Itachi for any answers. Who just shook his head, 'later' he mouthed. Kisame nodded and went back to enjoying the moment.

Naruto shifted her walk for the hundredth time, she was so confused. It was so different than Konoha, she had to admit that the ocean view was definitely different than the forest. She liked it, she was just waiting for people to start cursing her. She sped up a bit in the direction of the Kage tower and nearly lost her balance when she heard Kurama talk. He hasn't spoken to her for the past few days, letting her get used to Itachi again. He just had to wait for the moment that she was walking a corner, making her run into the corner of the building.

She pouted as she rubbed the pain out of her nose. She opened her eyes when she heard laughing. "Looks like you couldn't dodge the big bad building either." Kisame laughed. (Joke from the past chapter.) That made Itachi laugh a little as well but immediately shut up when he saw the blondes glare. They both had to run to keep up with her.

Naruto pouted as she ran to the Kage tower, "Damn fox. Making me run into a building, who does that?" Kurama sighed, **"Kit, you do realize that you did that to them back in that other village right?"**

Naruto sweat dropped and sped up even more. Cursing on her way to the door she opened it harshly and grinned when she heard twin thumps on the other side. She carefully opened the door and burst out laughing when the shark and the raven were both on the floor. They glared as she snickered, "Dang guys, what is that anyways? House: 4, you guys: 0?" She rubbed it in.

Kisame and Itachi both tried to glare at her to death but it didn't work sadly. They stood up and followed her into the Mizukages office when they got permission. They awkwardly stood by the door waiting for the blonde to open it. Itachi was about to talk to her when she swung it open with a skip to her step.

Let's just say that Kisame and Itachi both had an issue with running into things that day. But it's fine since it was Naru and not a door that time.

"Mei! Noooo, Zabuza! Why?" Naruto cried when she saw them. Doing _it_ , on the desk. They both shot up at the same time Kisame and Itachi looked up. Itachi at least had the decency to look away when the shark spilt blood. Naruto turned around a few times as she left to wait in the hallway, giving them a look as if scolding a child. "Eww." Naruto muttered when she closed the door. Of all times to walk in, why? She knew that they weren't talking, it was moaning she heard through the door. She cursed her hearing capabilities.

It was awkward, the silence in the hallway. The trio kept glancing at each other as they sat in the chairs waiting for the two obvious lovebirds come out. "That was hot." Kisame said after a few minutes. Itachi chuckled quietly but stopped once again by the look Naruto gave him. Eventually the door was opened by a deeply embarrassed Zabuza. "Um, you guys can come in now. Nice to see you Naruto, Kisame and… whoever you are."

With that the trio followed the other man into the office just in time to see Mei fix her hair into a rather messy bun. Naruto rose an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She looked at them both as they blushed under her criticizing gaze. She may be younger than them both but that didn't mean that they wanted to disappoint her or anything along those lines. Narutos eyes narrowed at Meis stomach. "You're pregnant." The blond stated making the tension even thicker.

Zabuza jumped and looked down. Mei blushed and grabbed Zabuzas hand in defense. Her stomach wasn't huge by any means she was only a few months along anyways, coincidently around the same time the request was sent for her to help them out again. They knew that she wasn't upset just surprised and maybe even hurt a bit, they would explain their reasons though. Mei softened her gaze, Naruto was hurt probably thinking that they didn't want her to know. Mei sighed and looked at the other two. She was surprised to see the Uchiha there but knew about their weird friendship/ undefined relationship going on. She looked at the other person and squealed when she saw Kisame.

"You came! I'm so glad." Well that did nothing to ease the situation. Kisame gave an awkward smile and glanced at Itachi who felt just as uncomfortable but hid it well. Zabuza and Mei sighed, they didn't want Naruto to feel bad by any means. But, they didn't want to talk about it with the other two there. "How was your trip Na-" Zabuza was cut off by a very angry/ covering hurt blond who sent them both glares that sent shivers down their spine.

"Explain." Naruto stated. What the heck happened in the past year? Did they get married and now they were having a kid, all without telling her? These people were her family, just as much as Jiraiya was. It hurt to not be in the loop, did they not feel the same?

Itachi and Kisame were equally confused. What the heck was happening? They looked at each other and gave small shrugs. Mei coughed. She had to explain and the sooner the better. "How about I tell you where you will be staying for now while I talk to Naruto?" She waited for them to nod, she gave them the address on the paper and told them to give it to the receptionist to assign them a chunin to give them a tour. Even if Kisame originated from here the layout was still new.

Once the other two left Naruto stood her ground but let her hurt show more. They started to talk. Well, talk.

|With Kisame and Itachi|

They both shut the door behind them and stayed for a minute, dazed by their confusion. They both snapped out of it when they heard Naruto yell, her voice cracking; "What the hell you two?!"

That got them moving as they quickened their pace down the hall staying quiet until they had a bit more privacy. They ended up getting two jounin named, Haku and Chojuro. They were going to talk to the Mizukage and Zabuza- dono but they were apparently… occupied. They were both strangely ecstatic and worried when they found that Naruto was here. When Itachi asked why that was they both just said that they would talk later on if they knew Naruto personally.

Haku and Chojuro gave their tour two the other nins. They showed where the academy, library, council hall and a shopping square was. They stopped to get some food really quick before they went to the apartment. When they finished they got to a medium sized building that reminded Itachi a lot of the jounin apartments back in Konoha. When he stated that they laughed and said that that's where they were. There were a few buildings for chunin, a couple for jounin and ANBU.

The apartment was obviously newer based on the cleanness of the halls. They walked down the hall until they came to room 104. They walked in and Itachis eyes grew. The apartment was nice, really nice. There was darker wood flooring, with neutral toned walls. The kitchen was off to the right and was based with lighter browns. The living room, that you first walk into, had a black couch with a sturdy coffee table. There was a four person dining table and a TV all set up already. The walls were bare, which bade well but otherwise seemed to be furnished.

"You guys can check it out. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. You two along with Naru- chan will stay here until Mei-Sama can get something else together." Chojuro announced. The previous Akatsuki members nodded and went their separate ways.

Itachi took his time checking out the apartment. It was much nicer than he would have thought. He went to his designated room and smiled. It was his. It felt nice to have something that he could consider his, at least for a little while. It seemed to be made for him. The walls were a light grey but had cherry wood dressers, nightstands and a bed frame. The bed was a queen sized and was bare so he would have to pick out some bedding, not that he minded; at all. There was a darker red rug under the bed as well that was incredibly soft. He smiled, loving it.

Itachi backtracked just in time to see Kisame come out who had a smaller, fond smile on. They both shook their heads slightly. They finally had a place to call home after so long. Kisame followed Itachi into the living room to see Haku making tea.

"So, will it work?" Chojuro asked. It was one of the nicer apartments but it was the least they could do with their war hero and a previous swordsman. Kisame grinned, "Yeah, it's great. Thanks." Itachi just nodded.

Haku brought the tea over to the seating area and sighed. "That's good. All of the apartments have the basics. They have kitchen and cooking utensils, as you can see. The furniture is also furnished so you only have to make it yours really." She explained.

Itachi nodded again, that made sense, also helpful. He turned to look at Kisame when he spoke up. "So, what was all of that back there? And what was wrong with Naruto when we were walking to the tower? She seemed upset."

Haku and Chojuro both opened their mouths to explain but closed them when they heard the last bit. "Did somebody give her trouble?" Haku asked, worry evident in her features. Itachi sighed when all three looked at him.

"No, that's not it. As you all know she's the jinchurraki for the nine-tails. Konoha was really bad for her, it was terrible when she was younger and it never got better." He said broadly. There was silence. "How bad was it?" Kisame asked. He barely just got to know the blond girl but she was good to be around. Honest, funny, considerate.

Itachi rubbed his face, talking brought up memories. Memories that he wouldn't mind keeping buried. "She was officially kicked out of the orphanage when she was four. Most of the time they would lock her out. She hardly ever ate and was cursed at constantly. She was beaten though, more than I can count. An inch to her life most of the time. The last time I checked her file was a few years ago, she was seven. Right before I had to leave Konoha myself. It was six inches thick, that was with the doctors being honest. Who know how bad it really was, but it was bad."

There was a tense silence. Chojuro's mouth was open and eyes were wide. Haku had her hand covering her mouth and her eyes were wet. The silence was broken by Kisame, "My god, why didn't she leave sooner?"

Itachi couldn't hide his wince even if he tried. He barely whispered when he answered. "It was my fault. I wanted her to watch over Sasuke when I left since I couldn't. She did and it was my fault she went through it more than she had to." His eyes were glazed as he spoke more to himself.

The only sounds that could be heard was the sipping of tea and the faint ticking of a nearby clock on the otherwise bare walls. After a few minutes he sighed and spoke up again, "So what was happening in the office?"

|Back with Naruto|

"What the hell you two!?" Naruto cracked. Mei and Zabuza opened their mouths to talk but was cut off. "W-what? D-did you get married and didn't tell me, were you even planning on it? How, wh-why, wh-?" Naruto cried, holding her head. She pulled her face mask off angrily and gripped it tight.

"Naruto, no. I swear we didn't. Can we explain? Please?" Mei asked feeling bad. Naruto looked at her sharply as if she forgot where she was. She nodded slightly and slumped in the chair. The other two sighed in relief and sat down next to each other.

"Naruto, Mei is only eleven weeks pregnant. We sent the letter as soon as we found out. We wanted it to be a surprise, to be told in person and not over a letter. We were going to write you a letter either way to come to our wedding. Naruto, we aren't married yet, we were waiting for you." Zabuza explained. Naruto grew to be like his little sister, an annoying one at that but family nonetheless. He didn't want her to feel bad.

Naruto dropped her hands from her head, "W-what?" They didn't forget about her? She felt so relieved, slightly embarrassed that she freaked out like that but still relieved.

"Naruto, we aren't married. We are in a few weeks though, we were waiting for you. We wanted to tell you this all face-to-face. We didn't forget about you, Naru." Mei explained.

Naruto nodded and cleared her throat, wiping her tears. "Sorry guys, it's been a long few months." The others laughed and agreed. "So, uhh congrats?"

They laughed and said thanks. They made a bit more small talk until they got to some bigger stuff to talk about. "So, when's the baby due?" Naruto asked excitedly, she always loved kids. The others hid a grin. "October twelfth." Naruto grinned, that was only two days away from hers. "Really? Wow! That's exciting. So you're getting married in three weeks and having a kid around seven months from now. You excited, I'm sure you'll be great parents."

Zabuza blushed while Mei laughed, "Thanks Naru, couldn't do any of it without you though." Naruto shook her head, "No, you would have been fine." Waving off the praise. The other two grinned to each other, she was going to flip! Zabuza cleared his throat and faked hurt. "What do you mean Naruto?"

Mei nodded, same emotion. "Yeah, we had to wait for you. It's not like we can have a wedding without the maid-of-honor. Don't even get us started on having a kid without his/ hers godparent. God, that would just be awful wouldn't it Zabu-chan?" She stated innocently. She had to muffled her laughs at his face turning red, this time with a mix of embarrassment and anger. He contained it though and continued.

"Oh, I know exactly what you mean. Except, I'm just glad that I'll be able to breath a bit more on our wedding and not have to deal with you and your emotions. I don't even want to think about how bad they'll be with you being pregnant at the same time as all of this going on. Thanks, Naruto right now, for dealing with her." He grinned at her fuming.

Mei opened her mouth to retort back to her fiancé when she heard a thump. They both looked over at the blond, having to peer from behind the desk and then lean on it to stop from falling over. She freaking fainted from the news? Geeze! Zabuza than winced when he was hit upside his head. He glared over at the red head and sighed.

"Emotions, really? You want to give me that? You want to start?" Mei countered with a hand on her hip.

|Later that night|

Naruto literally skipped to the address of the apartment as she smiled. She hasn't felt this happy since, she couldn't remember how long. But, it felt nice. She had her best friend back her sister was going to get married to her idiotic brother. She was going to be a godparent! She would make sure to do a better job at it than her own. If the kid needed her, she would be there in a heartbeat. Not that she thought anything would happen to Mei or Zabuza. But she would be there for him/ her anytime they needed her.

She actually had a reason to stay here other than Itachi. Mei and Zabuza wanted her here. So, she would stay.

She ran up the stairs and then opened the door. Only to stop in her tracks when she saw the apartment, it was freaking amazing! She whistled appreciatively, "Dang!" She mouthed. She jumped when Itachi came around the corner. "Oh, hey."

Itachi eyed her carefully. She seemed to be in a much better mood than she was when they left the office. "Uh, hey to you too. You seem to be in a much better mood." He was surprised when she skipped into the kitchen. Did she really just skip? She was 16 not 6, not that he really minded he was just surprised.

"Yup! I don't really have a reason to not be happy. I mean, I'm going to be a maid-of-honor in a few weeks. I'm gonna have a godchild in the upcoming months. We're here to stay, so what's to be upset over?" She grinned manically as she turned to Itachi once she got some ice cream out of the freezer.

Itachi stood there wide eyed. They. Were. Going. To. Stay. They were going to stay! Wait, what? It took him a minute for him to register everything she had said. She was going to be in a wedding, ok. She was going to be a godmother? That was great!

"Congrats, Naru! That's great news. You'll be a great bridesmaid and as a godmother." He congratulated. He was surprised when Naruto jumped into his arms. He tried not to pay attention to how their bodies fit perfectly with each other, or the warmth their bodies radiated off each other. He tucked his face in her neck, while he could without it being weird. "Thanks Itachi." He only nodded and reluctantly let her go.

Naruto nodded to herself and opened her icecream while looking through the drawers for a spoon. "So, since we're going to be staying here I figured I would at least want to get reregistered in the ninja roll or something. Eventually anyway. Well the point is, I got you a meeting with Zabuza. He's apparently the chief of ANBU. They actually combine two, genin with chunin and jounin with ANBU. They have a weird system here." She mused.

Itachi nodded in relief and happiness. This was it, he could finally have a normal life again. There were only two things that he could think about it getting any better. Seeing Sasuke and Naruto, more so anyway. He sighed and shook his head. He was happy with what he could get. "Thank you, I'll make sure to talk with him tomorrow."

Naruto nodded with the spoon with icecream in her mouth as she put the icecream back in the freezer. She licked her spoon clean and threw it in the sick. "That would be… good." She finished as she watched Itachis hand wipe something off her mouth.

' _Do not think about how soft his hands are. Do not think about how soft his hands are.'_ She thought desperately. Her eyes were glues to his movements and how he licked the chocolate off.

"You had some, there. Icecream, I got it but.. yeah." Itahci explained calmly. While on the inside he was freaking out. _How did that even happen!? I did not move my hand! Smooth, real smooth Uchiha. What the heck is wrong with you?!_

Naruto nodded dumbly, her lip still tingly. "… Thanks." She snapped out of it after a second with a jump. "Yeah, ok so I'm going to go to bed. See you tomorrow. G-good night." She ran off without an answer, beet red.

Itachi stood there in utter embarrassment but awoke to reality when he heard the shower running. He walked over to the cabinets and hit his head a few times. He looked to the dark living room and saw Kisame walk into the kitchen. He groaned, he knew what was coming.

Kisame could barely stop laughing to talk. "… Oh man… T-that was terrible. Real smooth Itachi… That was.. wow… Ju-just wow." With that he slapped Itachi on the back and went to bed. Itachi groaned again and hid his face in his hands and hit the back of his head on the counter again.

Smooth, real smooth.


	7. Chapter Six

Naruto rolled over in bed and groggily opened her eyes. She snuggled deeper into her blankets not wanting to get up yet. She looked at the alarm clock and sighed when she saw it was only 7:30. She clicked her mouth a few times to get rid of the dryness and got up to take a shower.

The boys had let her take the biggest room, the one with the personal bathroom while they got the smaller bedrooms and shared a bathroom. She didn't complain at all, it was just different than living on the road and her old apartment in Konoha.

Once she got dressed in ANBU pants, the black fishnet shirt and red tank top. Because of the breeze with the ocean she was a bit warmer with the pants than the shorts that she got a couple weeks previous. She finished putting her hair into a bun when she came into the kitchen. She rose an eyebrow and turned around, sighing in annoyance. Nobody else was up, were mornings that bad for them? She walked into the kitchen to get a drink, she had about half an hour before she had to leave to meet up with Mei so what should she do?

She set the cup down and made breakfast, not really having anything else to do. Twenty minutes later the kitchen table was filled with food of all sorts. Still, nobody awoke. She groaned and wrote a note telling them where she was and about the meeting they both had with Zabuza in a few hours, setting it on the table where they could see it. On her way out she sealed her cloak into her shoulder and shut the door, a bit louder than normal.

She was still a bit irritable with how Itachi was acting the previous night. She was confused.

Itachi and Kisame both flew up from their beds when they heard a door slam closed. They both groaned and slowly got up, not yet getting ready but up to see what was wrong. They met in the hallway, slowly going faster when they smelt food. Salivating, they sat down eating not giving anything a second thought. They finished the mountains of food, only now seeing the note. Itachi read it and winced slightly, remembering the previous nights events.

'Hope you enjoyed sleeping in. Enjoy the food, don't forget about your meeting with Zabuza. It's at ten. Don't be late, if you think you can manage.

-Naruto'

They were both quiet for a minute than groaned simultaneously. Itachi because he knew when Naruto was in a 'mood.' Kisame may have only known her personally for about a week, but he picked things up fairly quickly. They were only hoping that she would go back to normal later on.

Naruto laughed at the café table sitting with Mei. They were eating breakfast than Mei was going to give a more in-depth tour for the blonde. While Naruto had lived here for months, it was a nice review and they got to catch up. She had already been shown the ANBU HQ and the Kage tower. They both payed for their food than walked down the street. It was a colder morning so Naruto had her cloak on.

The Village Hidden in the Mist, Water Country. Previously known as the Bloody Mist. It's been years since they did any of their 'practices' but names like that tend to stick, it was getting better though. People were happier and the shinobi had something to fight for what they believed in. The Mist was in its prime and it was all thanks to Naruto.

Mei and Naru were walking down the street happily. They talked about the upcoming wedding, that is coming up really, really soon. In nine days in fact. Naruto was surprised that they were having it that soon but they already explained that they had the bigger things planned. Such as the venue, food, invitations. Mei had wanted to wait for the blond to pick out some of the more personal details such as the dress, colors and ask her to do the toast and such. Since Mei's parents had died back during the beginning of the bloody mist, she was left an orphan causing her to plan the uprising from a young age. Since they both knew what it was like to be lonely, no matter to what extent, Mei and Zabuza both felt to include her.

Naruto was more than happy to help out and do whatever they would ask of her. It was the first time she really felt like she had a family, it was nice. They caught up and just talked, enjoying the others presence. It was nice having your sister figure back after so long. After a while the only bigger thing to show the blonde was the academy.

They were greeted happily, Naruto actually more so than Mei. Mei apparently made an appearance a lot in the village, especially the academy. When their war hero came unexpectedly they were all overjoyed. So much so that the instructor, who was actually pregnant, went into labor. Mei left to take the instructor, Kari-sensei, to the hospital leaving Naruto to substitute for the rest of the day.

"Uh, haha ha, hi." Naruto welcomed awkwardly. The rest of them were in the same state of shock but soon overcame it and started asking her questions. Naruto just stood there in shock, what was she even supposed to do? Mei literally just told her to watch them and Kari-sensei had told her they were talking about summons. The kids were all talking excitedly gradually getting louder and louder, snapping her out of her musings.

"Quiet!" She shouted. They all sat down wide-eyed and dead quiet. Naruto sighed and glanced around the room. It was set up very similar to the academy in the Leaf, it had the same set up but fewer students. There were maybe twelve in the class total while her own graduating class had about 18-20. She sighed and looked at the board.

There was a list that had a basic summery of what a summon is, how you would get one, some famous summons and actual summoning. She made a disgusted face at the board, it was all direct and not flexible. It was leaving a lot out and didn't exactly have the, 'you can become great,' feel to it. She sighed again and looked back at the class. They all looked somehow between sad and ecstatic.

She absentmindedly wondered how they managed that but chalked it up to them being kids.

She slowly took off her cloak and looked back at the door as if expecting Mei to come back any minute. She set the cloak on the teachers chair and shifted uncomfortably than decided to screw it and just see what happens. It wasn't like she was replacing Kari-sensei or anything, that would just be insane. She stopped standing perfectly straight and just relaxed, they were just kids she could do this.

She scratched her nose, "Ugh, do you have any questions?" Immediately six hands went up, they were all listening carefully like she would give them the answers to the world. She laughed lightly, "Ugh, ok how about we go around the room and give your name and a question you may have, and something about yourself. I'll start I guess."

They all nodded happily, to be honest she was slightly freaked out by their staring. "Ok, my name in Naruto. You can call me… uh, Naruto I guess. I'm 16, I like to cook and spend time with my family. Uh, you next."

They all went around the room and stated who they were and something about themselves, maybe a question or two. It was the graduating class so they were all either 11 or 12. By the time they were done nearly 45 minutes had past, leaving the day with about four hours left. Naruto was surprised by how easily it was to get used to the kids but she always did have a hack for younger kids. "Ok, did Kari-sensei just have you do book work?"

They replied yes, making her kind of sad. She did fine with book work, but still better with hands on. "Do you guys really understand any of this?" Only a few raised their hands making her sigh.

She looked at the clock and nodded to herself. She could cover summons in four hours. She erased the board and moved the teaching desk to the edge of the wall, by the window. She ignored the children's gawking, actually smiling. This may be kind of fun she thought. She rubbed her hands together than grabbed a piece of chalk, "Ok, let's restart the lesson. Let me know if you have any questions, even if you think they're stupid." They nodded slowly.

Once Naruto went over the basics they started to ask questions, intrigued by her teaching style. It was much different from their previous senseis way of teaching.

"What are some of the bigger summons that you know of?" One student, Jurei asked. Naruto nodded. Kari-sensei was just getting to that part when she went to labor.

"Well, there are a lot total. Summons are a bit tricky. They're all unique. They could either be loyal to a whole village, a certain clan or even just one person. Some of the bigger ones are, Tigers, Cats, Wolves, uh. Those are probably the most common but there are ones that are rarer that will only be loyal to certain people. For instance the toads, slugs and snakes from Konoha. So, there aren't any, 'bigger' summons exactly. They have ones that are more popular, less common and overall easier to get. Or there are some that are hard since you may have to pass a test to see if you are worthy of them."

Jurei nodded. Naori rose her hand, "How many summons can you get?"

Naruto was slightly surprised by the question but didn't deter on it. "Well, there isn't a limit to be truthful. The hard part with multiple summons is finding some that will work together. I personally have three."

Everybody whispered excitedly to each other making Naruto laugh. They all asked how and what they were, out loud making Naruto smile. "Well, I have the toads that I got from Jiraiya the Sannin. I have foxes from a good friend and I actually have a shadow contract."

They all broke out talking making Naruto smile, it wasn't hard to know that they would find that cool. "Hey, hey Naruto-sensei can you show us?" Many others broke into pleadings.

Naruto acted like she was thinking about it even though she already knew that she would, having moved the desk earlier for that same reason. "I don't know. If any of you have candy, I can show you toads I guess."

She was surprised that all twelve found candy or something along those lines. She only took two pieces though and told them to pay attention even though they were. She showed them what hand signs before she put chakra into it than there was the poof. Two of them actually. When the smoke cleared there were two toads about the size of a lamp. "Yo, Naruto we haven't seen you forever!" "Naruto-nee!"

She laughed and introduced them to the class. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu loved the attention as well as the kids having the chance to see an actual summon. All of the candy ended up being eaten by the end of the day, not that any of them minded or anything. Soon enough there was only twenty minutes left in class when Mei came back in. Mei was smiling brightly when she saw the atmosphere of the class. They all seemed happy, happier than whenever she would visit otherwise. Naruto was smiling and laughing and just happier than she's seen for a while. She laughed internally, she knew just what to have Naruto do.

The class quieted down in surprise, had time really gone by that fast? Mei rose an eyebrow, "I take it it went well?" The class immediately started shouting, explain how much they learned and how much they love Naruto making her blush unwillingly at the attention. Mei did nothing but laugh but it quieted down after Naruto yelled.

They talked a bit more civilized for a few minutes but they all paused when Mei was asked a question. "Since Kari-sensei isn't going to be here anymore who's going to teach us?" One asked. Soft murmurs broke out about who they were hoping would teach them. It came down to Naruto in the end with them all if they had a choice. They learned so much from her and they had fun while they were doing it, much better than their previous sensei.

Mei glanced at Naruto to see her expression but sighed when he saw that she was expressionless at the moment. She quieted down the students and answered, "I don't know. You will have the rest of the week off though. You will get a new teacher than. Now go along home, it's already a quarter past the bell."

A few students ran out while others took their time but they all said bye to Naruto on their way out. It was quiet for a few minutes until Naruto grabbed her cloak and sighed, having a feeling what Mei was going to ask her to do. They ignored the silent question until they went back to the office, running into Itachi, Zabuza and Kisame. Itachi and Kisame were labeled exclusive jounin. They both chose to do separate things for a while though. Itachi was going to rejoin an ANBU squad for now while Kisame helped Zabuza reform the swordsman.

Mei and Naruto were sitting in her office just talking some more when they ended at what Naruto was supposed to do. The previous night she announced that she would be staying in mist because of the wedding and her future godchild. Her family and future was here now. At least at the moment and she wasn't going to ruin it. "Naruto, will you take them? Kari's class I mean. You did so well with them today, they loved you."

Naruto looked down for a minute and sighed, "I-I don't know Mei. I mean, my own academy experience was really bad, I don't want to mess it up for them."

Mei nodded sadly, understanding where she was coming from but she wasn't going to let this go. "I get that Naruto, I really do. But this isn't Konoha and you're you here. That class only had a few months left, will you at least take them until they graduate? Than we can go from there. You've been on the road for over a year, this could offer you a break. It would only be for a few months Naruto, please?"

Naruto looked up and rubbed her eyes. She loved those kids, even after only having known them for about a day. But just the memories that came with the job were harsh. Mei did bring up a point though, it would offer her a chance to lay low and not be on the road that would require being an ANBU or a jounin.

Naruto sighed, this wasn't Konoha. She wasn't even a boy anymore like she was during most of her time in the Leaf. This was a new chance and it would only be for a few months anyway. Naruto laughed lightly, she couldn't hold back in fear. This was her home now. "Ok, I'll take the class till they graduate and we'll go from there." They shared twin smiles.

|Konoha, 3 Months after Naruto's banishment|

Tsunade groaned as Shizune brought in yet another stack of papers. It was never ending. She rolled around her chair and played with a rope around her neck absentmindedly. The one that was her grandfathers, then her uncles, her own, Nawaki, Dan, Naruto than her own once more. The linking to a dream that they all shared. The great title of Hokage, she scoffed remembering the discussion that she had with Sasuke the day they found out about Naruto. She was right, becoming Hokage was a joke but such was life. Better deal with a bunch of stupid people than let the great, feared village of Konoha burn to the ground because someone doesn't know how to lead them properly.

She frowned in thought when she looked at the monument. She glared slightly at her own face of stone. At times she really wished Jiraiya took the job. If he had Naruto wouldn't be gone, she could still be gambling away her families fortune. Nothing would be the same, but chances are it would be for the better. Damn, she missed the old pervert more than she would admit. She turned back at the knock at the door.

"Come on in." She sighed.

She wasn't surprised when Uchiha Sasuke came in. Herself and the young teen grew somewhat closer. It was a weird relationship. Thinking about why he would be here she laughed lightly at herself. She called him here a few days ago but he's been on a mission. She smiled though, it was good news. She gestured to a chair, "Sasuke, take a seat."

Sasuke nodded and sat down, withholding his questions. Once Tsunade assured him that he wasn't in any trouble he eased up a bit. Tsunade sat down and offered him a glass of sake that he carefully took. Whenever he had a drink with her, the very few times, it was either very good or very bad news. Like, really, really bad news. He shoved his fears down and downed the glass.

"Sasuke." Tsunade called hiding her smile behind her hands. He turned to look at her blinking away the dizziness. That was some strong liquor. He nodded.

"Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi's name has been cleared. All we need to do is find him and he could come back. Free of any charges, penalties any of it. He's been named as a civil hero, which he should have been. Sasuke, Itachi could come back."

They discussed more over sake, happier than they have been in a long time.

|Current time, Meis Office|

Mei smiled, this was great. She didn't exactly have another ninja that would do a very good job as an instructor. Of course there were other jounin and chunnin, but they couldn't do nearly as good of a job as Naruto. Mei dropped the smile when Naruto opened her mouth.

"Ok. A few conditions, however."

Mei nodded interested, "Of course."

Naruto sighed, "If I'm going to be an instructor I still need to be able to leave on other missions. Second, while I am working here, living here. I need to be able to leave if I deem it. I don't really seeing myself doing that but if anything comes up, I won't subject you, the baby, Zabuza or the village in any danger if I can prevent it."

Mei looked down, she knew where Naruto was coming from. But it still hurt that Naruto would leave just because of them, at the expense of her own happiness. Some would say it was honorable and brave but Naruto's life had been so horrible. She would agree though, Naruto had been tied down by a village for too long. If Naruto would stay than she would appreciate it as much as she could. She won't be another Konoha for the blonde.

"…OK, Naruto. You can leave whenever you need, as for missions. I guess I can do a dual position for you I guess, it's not common by any means. However, you can do the academy during the week and if you need to you can always pick up a mission during the weekends or something. Naruto, I hope you know that we love you. All of us here, the village, me, Zabuza. You can have the home and family you always wanted."

Naruto looked away, willing away whatever it was she was feeling. Sadness, happiness, excitement. She didn't look at Mei as she spoke, "We'll see Mei, we'll see."

Later that night Naruto, Itachi and Kisame were all sitting at the dinner table. They still haven't figured out living arrangements or if they wanted separate apartments at all. To be honest the thought hasn't even crossed their minds. Having lived on the road for so long they just enjoyed having a place to call home. Somewhere they can sleep, eat and relax, their own space. Right now they were sitting at the table, eating. Naruto was still iffy and feeling so much it was overwhelming. She decided to just take it one step at a time.

Itachi and Kisame were talking about… everything really. Kisame was stoked to re-found the Seven Swordsman. Itachi was excited to get back into the ranks. He really didn't know how long he was going to be in there though. He was a pacifist after all. He was really just joining to get the feel of the hidden village. He hasn't spoken to anybody but he was actually thinking about taking on a genin team when he could.

They were all still overwhelmed but in a good way for the most part. Naruto hadn't spoke much at dinner, still thinking about everything. She was excited but she couldn't help but feel like she was intruding. She felt selfish that she was taking the opportunity for this. Kurama eventually got annoyed with her and told her to just take her time and enjoy it. There was no point in worrying about the future when you couldn't do anything about it.

Naruto was enjoying it though. She had her family back and was getting an… interesting choice of job. She was just trying to enjoy it, live in the moment. She didn't have to worry about anything. Watching her back, look out for Sasuke or a top secret organization. She was happy, she had a feeling that things would get better. Besides, she had a wedding to go to for her sister. Who wouldn't be excited about that?

She would get there eventually. She didn't know where there, exactly was. But snorting as Itachi and Kisame bickered, she felt herself getting closer. She could do this.


	8. Chapter Seven

If Only They Knew

Rated: T-M (Language)

I don't own Naruto

Ok, with the wedding. This is going to sound incredibly stupid but, I don't want to butcher their traditional ceremonies. So, I'm doing it in white dresses and such. I'm sorry if this is going to offend you guys. But, in my opinion it's not a huge deal for the story… So, yeah.

By the way, this is HORRIBLE. I tried very hard but it just didn't work. But…. You get your chapter so that's exciting.

Side note, (I'm too lazy to redo the whole authors note so I'm just adding to it.) Uh… I'm pretty sure the world hates me because my laptop broke once again and that's why I am just now getting around to updating this. But because of this I need to work on other stories as well, so I'm getting around but you finally have your update (:

READ THE AUTHORS NOTE AT THE BOTTOM WHEN YOU'RE DONE!

XXX

Planning a wedding was exhausting. Days seemed to pass in minutes, people were talking but not discussing and god, there was so much running. While most of the event had already been planned, there seemed to be even more stuff that they didn't even realize they needed. For Naruto, she was only at the apartment if it was to sleep and even then; if she wasn't dealing with anything related to the wedding she was planning the baby shower.

Luckily, the baby shower wouldn't be for another month to two months, so they had plenty of time. After that, things should be slowing down. But not right now, because right now Mei realized that she had forgotten the something blue. And her (and Zabuzas) house was at the end of the town, the ceremony starting in 30 minutes.

The heels were a nightmare so Naruto found herself running barefoot through the streets, trying to not ruin the long dress she was wearing. Muttering nonsense under her breath, Naruto opened the door, easily navigating her way to the brides room. Two drawers later, Naruto found the blue hair pin and could only smile.

She exhaled, somewhat laughing at where her thoughts strayed before she turned only to scream. "What the hell, really?"

Itachi laughed, steadying the other. His dark eyes lit with amazement as he took in the other. He struggled to find words, or the breath, but he eventually gathered himself. "Y-you ok?"

Naruto huffed, mentally praising the other for how he pulled the tux off. Naruto swallowed, grinning the other off, ignoring the others now annoyed look. "I'm great. We should be getting back, though. It should be starting pretty soon."

Itachi rolled his shoulders, not saying anything. He knew Naruto was still on edge with everything and then some, so he wasn't going to call her on her bluff anytime soon. Or, he'll try not to. It was hard however, considering the circumstances. He hesitated for a brief moment before gesturing with his arm.

"It doesn't start for twenty minutes."

Naruto smirked before it turned into a smile, looping her arm around the others. "We should still hurry. Haku was freaking out. And from what I could hear from the guys' room, Zabuza was in the middle of a mental breakdown."

Itachi snorted, "He was indeed. That's why I followed you out. Kisame was getting the third degree because his bow tie wasn't tied yet. Luckily for me, mine was. But I wasn't going to take any chances."  
Naruto laughed, gripping the others arm tighter. "Ah, that is surprising."

Itachi tilted his head. "I agree. Zabuza was holding himself together just fine until this morning. Though, I can't say I blame him."

At the questioning hum, Itachi continued; if any slower. "Well, he's getting married. To the Mizukage at that. Mei is also quite a character herself. On top of all that, he's going to be a father. If anything I think that's what he's freaking out about. Him and Mei have been together for years. They've known each other since they were young. Then they went through the civil war together. He's excited about the marriage, I want to say that it's being a father that scares him."

Naruto bit her lip, looking at the sky as she asked with fake confidence. "Would you want to?"

Itachi turned, something caught in his throat. "What?"

Naruto screamed insanity in her mind but continued forward. "Getting married. Having kids if you could. You know? Being a father."

Itachi was really glad that she wasn't looking at him. His face was turning between sheet white and tomato red. He wouldn't ever say out loud that at that moment, he did see it. He had known, since he was younger that he did want that. For those torturous years, he didn't even let himself think about it. But he did want it. Marriage, being a father, kids. Kami, Sasuke would be the best uncle one could have.

He wanted it. He wanted it with Naruto. He wanted it so bad.

He managed to start talking again with a lot of internal struggle. "I would."

Naruto turned, sad small smile. "Yeah?"

Itachi inhaled, "What about you? I know that family is important to you. You'd be a great mom."  
Call it fate, call it destiny, Itachi only called it bullshit but they were back at the venue.

"I'll see you later, Itachi. Mei's needing this, then it's the isle."

"Naruto-."

The blonde turned but didn't look at him, waving back before the door shut behind her. Itachi's arm fell with a thud against his leg. Gritting his teeth, his fingers came back up to rub the bridge of his nose. He turned, going back into the groomsmen room.

"Damn it."

XXX

Naruto's tongue was bleeding, hands white as she gripped the hairpin. She blinked away tears, the voices in the room going through like a buzz. She regretted bringing anything up to Itachi. She should have just stayed quiet because it hurt so, so much.

"Naruto!"

With all the excitement and years upon years of practice, Narutos emotional conflict went unnoticed. She grinned, everybody in the room taking the wetness in her eyes as fellow excitement. "Hey, sorry it took so long! Who knew that something blue would-?"

In the bit of time they had left, Haku announced that she needed to do something with Naruto's hair so she just went along with it. Because Mei was the last of her own main clan (the wars, civil war and the bloodline purge) she would walk herself down the isle, even though there were people she was close enough to have them walk her down. But before that, the maid of honor would go first, followed by the bridesmaids then lastly, the bride. Despite a baby on the way, Zabuza didn't handle small children very well so Mei allowed the absence of a flower girl and ring bear.

Not that she argued very much, Mei just wanted to get married.

They compromised and had the best man and the maid of honor do those things. Give the rings and throw flowers. Naruto inhaled sharply, nodding to herself. There really wasn't anything to do but throw them. Haku had drilled the special walk into her head the past few days and Kisame had also (very unwillingly) learned it as they were walking down together.

She turned at the snort, eyes narrowing in mild annoyance. The blue skinned man just adjusted his tie and turned to her. "This is so much more trouble then it's worth. Whatever, you ready? I don't want to get yelled at if we cause a hold up. Again."

The words were comforting and Naruto nodded in agreement. Bracing their arms together, she balanced the flower basket in her hand. Kisame (gently?) refused the pillow and just had the rings in his pocket.

The thought had made her laugh. Kisame was a naturally tall and somewhat bulky guy so the image of him holding a silk pillow while balancing the rings were hysterical to say the least. Luckily, the guy hadn't been offended, if anything he had agreed.

"Way more trouble then it's worth. They invited the whole village."

Kisame grimaced as the music started. "She is the Kage, so it makes sense."

Naruto rose an eyebrow, "If she could, she would make it small and you know that. Or, she would have and pregnancy is getting to her head."

The shark man groaned before standing straighter and walked, putting on a smile that you could tell was killing him on the inside. Naruto faired a bit better but that was mostly with practice. They both reached the alter, Kisame standing next to Zabuza and Naruto starting the other line by herself.

The wedding was outdoors and every seat was filled and radiated happiness and excitement. It mellowed Naruto a bit, taking a deep breath and put the previous situation out of mind for now. She could think on it later but it was her siblings wedding so she had to be happy.

Itachi walked by himself, nobody noticed his own discomfort unless you knew him and those who did were mentally cackling. While Itachi and Zabuza clicked increasingly well since they first came here, Mei didn't care enough to pull in another girl for a bridesmaid.

Chojuro and Haku walked down next, each smiling in their own excitement in the wedding. The two Seventeen year olds had gotten together during the war. Most had seen them together but dressed in their non-normal ninja garbs, the two were radiant.

None of the decorations, people or anything stood even close to Mei though. Naruto bit her lip, almost bouncing when she glanced at Zabuza who was crying, hands clasped over his face. Haku clasped the blondes hand, trying to get her to hold still but they were both bouncing now.

She wore a medium puffed Empire dress, beading from the bottom up with lace. A blue ribbon and ties instead of the normal white. Her hair that was normally down was only half down, curled, while the rest was in a braided crown. The dust blue and aged pin was carefully set in the braids.

While most looked at the bride as they walked down the isle, others looked at the groom and that's what got them to cry themselves. With the bandages off Zabuzas face, he was much more expressive then otherwise. To put it simply, he looked like he had the whole world gifted to him. Which to him, it was.

The weather was surprisingly nice for Kirigakure. There wasn't any wind which was an honest to kami miracle at this point. They prayed it stayed that way. They planned for the wedding to only go for three hours, including the dinner but you never know.

Ao looked close to tears when Mei stepped up to the podium. He opened his mouth to begin the vows but froze, a minor terrified glint flashed in his eyes. Mei calmly looked at the other, eyebrow twitching ever so slightly.

"Ao, I am getting married. Continue before I kill you."

He nodded obediently. He cleared his throat, voice loud enough to be heard over the crowd. "Time is infinite and undefined. When asked, how do you measure love-"

The crowd was crying. Everybody was crying save for Me, surprisingly. Her eyes were still glossy though. Mei said her own part, followed by Zabuza which ended with the both hugging. Dinner followed, people served by tables. Mei and Zabuza both got their favorite meals before they had their first dance.

Naruto smiled, resting her cheek on her fist as she watched people dance. She absently played with the rest of the rice on her plate before turning at the tapping on her shoulder. Her eyes widened a bit before her lips quirked up.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were dancing with uh- Ria?"

Itachi allowed a small grimace making the other turn to hide a snort. "Uh, I don't know who it was or what I did but I'm glad it's over.''

Naruto coughed, "Did you want to sit down? I saw her step on your feet more than I could count…"

Itachi gave a half shrug as he looked away. "I would but I wanted to dance a bit more."

Naruto swallowed, waving the over off with a tilted smile. "Of course, go! Dance the night away."

With Naruto turned, Itachi was free to glare but he knew that Naruto felt it. As if magic, Naruto turned back, lips pursed and eyebrow rose. "Yes?"

The raven tilted his head, lips quirked it utterly fake confidence. He held his hand out and Naruto blinked before shaking her head. The hand shook somewhat which spoke a lot of the stoic Uchiha. Naruto grit her teeth, before letting out a breath and letting the raven male pull her up.

Itachi smiled, spinning the girl who was now almost the same height as he was with her heels. Naruto gave a small huff before getting pulled back in. The dance floor was littered with other couples but the two paid no heed. The music was slow and the two didn't notice when it passed, or the next one or the one after that.

"I didn't know you could dance. Let alone you, Naruto but I'm somehow more surprised that Itachi can."

They both paused before taking a step away from each other, not letting their frustration show. They turned back to who had spoke, the blue skinned man holding a glass and sipping from it, eyes lit with amusement. Kisame knew Itachi enough to know he was annoyed at being interrupted and he would bet that Naruto was as well but he was getting bored. If they weren't going to kiss already then they could be interrupted.

"We learned when we were younger. But I'm more interested in how you would do, now that you bring it up."

Kisame slowly drew the glass in for another sip -gulp-, and looked away. His eyebrow twitched in mild annoyance but masked it with indifference that he had learned from the Uchiha. "I would love to but I wouldn't want to offend anyone."

Naruto rose a skeptical brow, Itachi only snorted. Naruto obviously held no belief in his statement and the other had no problems telling them both what he felt.

"I'm sure you would offend plenty of people. We learned this when you challenged Deidara to the dance off four years ago."

Naruto grinned in interest, turning to the Itachi to ask for the details when Kisame gasped in disbelief.

"We promised not to talk about that again! It wasn't that bad and you are hardly any better."

Itachi tsked, smirking at the other. "No, but I am smart enough not to challenge a sugar prone teen who had managed to pull Sasori, of all people, in to it as well. I may not be the best, but I am far from the worst."

Kisame wasn't pouting but he was. He failed to think of a comeback but vowed to get him back.

Naruto laughed, watching the man walk away with his remaining dignity and turned right before Haku could barrel into her. Her eyes widened, reaching out and steadying the brunette who giggled. Brown eyes looked at her with excitement.

"She's going to throw the bouquet, let's go!"

Before Naruto could object because, she wanted to part in this, Haku dragged her away. She turned pleadingly to Itachi but he only smirked and walked back to their table. Naruto gave him a glare that promised retribution.

The crowd around was smaller then she would have thought but the wedding had been going for a while so it made sense that most would be leaving. The girls and women in the mildly compact crowd had about fifteen people. Naruto smiled at the grinning Haku in amusement when they shouldered their way to the front.

Mei turned back, practically glowing in happiness. She waved the flowers teasingly, the crowd either whining or laughing in return. She looked around until she met her bridesmaids eyes and smiled back at Hakus enthused nod.

Counting to three, she threw it back. Mei faintly wondered if she was half as violent as the women who were thrashing in hopes of being the one who catches the flowers. The red head turned, watching where it landed with extreme amusement. She looked at Haku again who was laughing at the blondes terrified expression.

Naruto held her palms up and was smart enough to know that she had been her sisters target. Naruto could feel herself burn with mortification as the others around her congratulated her. She felt like the flowers were heavy in her hands. She felt happiness at first, she had even laughed but then she remembered that it was supposed to mean that whosever caught the brides bouquet would be the next to marry.

Naruto felt her eyes burn because god, she knew what Mei was hinting at and was trying to say but it hurt. Everything hurt. And she felt selfish that she felt this way at her families wedding but she couldn't help it.

'Naruto-'

Kuramas bout warm chakra helped her come back down to earth. She immediately cut the link off, as she had done everytime the fox would try and hold this conversation. The blonde could almost feel her mind detach to her body as she started laughing with the crowd. Haku caught on immediately and frowned in concern, brown eyes kind.

Naruto turned, somehow being dragged into a conversation with some girls she faintly recognized. Naruto had no idea what she was saying or thinking but could only feel her heart drumming against her ribs and she honestly wondered how it hadn't popped out yet.

She didn't even know why it hurt so much. She knew that she wasn't going to have a family. She wasn't going to get married or have kids. She knew this. She had always _known_ this. She why did she want to cry and scream and-

Her eyes glanced over an energetic greenheads despite herself. Blue eyes met onyx immediately and she didn't know if her smile dropped or turned sad but she could feel it change into something that she had to control ever. Itachis eyes were filled with worry and something else, many other somethings but she didn't know what.

A voice that wasn't Kuramas and sounded distinctly her own screamed stupidity. That it was love and grief and longing.

Naruto looked away, closing her eyes as she laughed at what the others were saying. She felt a tear fall down her face but ignored it.

She was selfish. She had a home now, somewhere she could be herself. She had more then she could ever realistically dream of. So why wasn't it enough?

Itachi would get married one day and have kids because he deserved it. He deserved everything in the world. But not with her. Not when she caused him worry and grief and let him down. Not when she couldn't protect Sasuke and let him go with Orochimaru. Not when she had failed her promise and even then, she still wouldn't deserve him.

She wanted to ask why it wasn't enough but knew it was pointless. Instead, Naruto told herself that she was fine. She'll be fine. She always was.

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Holy shoot! Ok, I am done and this is going up. These two are going to kill me though. I need your guys' opinion on something though. When (you can also tell me how this will eventually happen), the two finally go on a date, what it will be.

You guys can request something and I'll try and put it in because I feel really bad that it has taken so damn long but I'm trying!

Tell me what you think and want and I'll see you next time.

TroublesomeFox


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